Desert Landscaping

Yeah, I told you this would be a post unto itself. :)

Yards out here aren't grass. They're rock and gravel. Grass just takes way too much water, and dies in the summer heat anyway. So, instead, they have what they call, desert landscaping. As best I can tell, it's something akin to Japanese rock gardens. Remove all the rocks that naturally occur in your yard, and replace them with the rocks that you want. The result, if you do it nicely, is something like this:

You arrange the gravel and the rocks in nice patterns and such, border things in your yard, hope that a tiny little bush or two might grow. There are even some yards with trees! OK, so that was a little sarcastic, but it's true - yards really don't have much greenery in them. Just takes too much work and water. There is some greenery in bloom now, like the pretty pink flowers below, but that's because (believe it or not!) this is the Green Season. Well, I guess compared to 120+ degrees in the summer, this is pretty green :)

It's taking some getting used to, like most things around here :) Makes the whole place brown - houses, roofs, buildings, yards... And there's still a part of me that can't get my mind wrapped around the idea of a rock yard. The nice ones look alright, but there are a lot that just strike me as ... unfinished, I guess. Like the site is still under construction and they're just waiting for the yard to be seeded. Watch, though - by Christmas time, we'll have been here most of a year and we'll visit family for the holidays or something, and we'll be so used to this, we'll be marveling at the greenery back east. Well, maybe ;)

Merry Bobmas Day!

No, this isn't some crazy holiday like Wintere'enmas (if you get that without clicking the link, major points to you!)

Bobmas is the celebration of Ravelry! Happy first birthday, Ravelry! And thank you, Casey and Jess (and Bob) - where would we be without you! Now, off for the Eating of the Cupcakes (or ice cream, as I have no cupcakes) and a bit of knitting, in joyous celebration of the quirky wonder that is Ravelry. Enjoy, all!

I continue my progress into the 21st century...

And I'm still as antisocial as ever!

I've finally joined Facebook. (sigh....). I know, I put it off for so long, but after about 4 or 5 friends made comments about it within a very short time frame, I figured I might as well. And I feel so stupid, because I actually don't really like it! I've been playing around with it a lot, over the last few days, and actually had a chance to see some of the applications, etc. Isn't it supposed to be the be-all-end-all of keeping in touch with people? I dunno....

At least, I've thought about what I don't like. As with Horrible Job, I'm trying to be rational about saying I don't like something, trying to figure out why I don't like that something. A sign of me growing up, maybe :) So here goes:

• I don't like a lot of the 'friends-just-to-have-friends' mentality. I haven't kept in touch with a lot of these people for years (some since high school, so almost 8 years now) so why is that going to change now? If I haven't kept in touch with you for 4 or 5 or 10 years, then I probably don't really care what you're up to now! And, yes, it is good for keeping in touch with people, but that doesn't mean I want EVERYone to keep up with me. (like I said - antisocial as ever!) I want to keep in touch with people that actually mean something to me, y'know? I don't want to end up on their Friend list just so that the have 2001 people instead of 2000 listed there.
  
• There are actually a lot of the bits and bobbles and application-things that are downright OBNOXIOUS! And I can't figure out how to make it go away from my page!! Why am I going to waste my time messing around with something that's irritating the heck out of me!? It's little things that you can't turn on or off, or all the little News Feeds - I really don't care about someone changing their profile picture, or adding a new group, or watching a new movie on Netflix, so why do I need it there on the page? I guess it's just another sign of me having different priorities for what I'm looking for in a site than other people, maybe?
  
• And let me just say, the Stitchmarker, or whatever that craft page application was called, is just a poor man's Ravelry. :)
  

Still, it does have it's redeeming features. Like I mentioned, it is an easy way to keep in touch with people, particularly those who might be in other time zones (pretty much EVERYONE for me right now!) or who aren't good about answering their phones (you know who you are!!) or who never check their messages (yes, you too!). Facebook does make it easy to see what they're up to.

Also, there is (drum roll, please) the BEST sets of maps and map games on there as applications. Yes, I know, I'm a dork :) The map module is really nice, because it's based on Google Maps, so it's be cities (and in some cases, neighborhoods), instead of just states or countries. Gives a much more fun picture of how much traveling you've been doing! :) The map game is awesome trivia! Like Freerice, it's a completely simple, addicting game, just sucks you right in, but you still feel like you're learning something! Like capitals and major cities in Africa, or city nicknames in the US - cool stuff, for little map dorks like us! Zach has watched me play on them in the evenings the past few days, and it's really funny to watch his face as he's trying to figure out of the fun map games are worth breaking down and getting a Facebook account ;)

So, yes... that's been my latest step into the new millennium... and I'm not quite sure if it lives up to the hype yet...

More thoughts on the desert

So, I've had a little bit of time to wander around post now (I think I've seen it from one end to the next). Apparently, though, the entire post itself is large enough to fit the state of Rhode Island. At least according to part of my orientation at work today. Would make sense, I think - it does stretch from Death Valley almost all the way over to Bakersfield. Unfortunately, the inhabited portion of Fort Irwin is not nearly so big. Only about the size of the neighborhood I grew up in back in Va Beach. Well, we make do, right? Still trying to be positive!

I've been to the library again. And yes, it is very tiny. Not completely barren - the movie and music selections aren't half-bad, but the books are just ...limited. One Rex Stout, just a handful of Agatha Christie titles, 4 Anne McCaffrey titles... yeah, like I said, it's a bit small...

Even worse, though, was that it looks like they are no longer going to be holding a knitting group at the library!!!! I was so excited to see that club posted on the library schedule. Was really hoping I could use it as a way to meet people outside of work. I really missed that in SC - I was always so tired and drained after work that I never did anything, so all the people I knew in Greenville were from my job. Didn't seem like a healthy fit, I think, and I don't want to repeat it here. So, I packed up a little project I'm working on, and took myself down to the library week before last (when the meeting was scheduled to be) ... and no one was there!! I had a chance to talk to one of the librarians later, and she said that it looks like that group has been canceled. I don't know if it's because of lack of interest, or budget cuts at the library or what (librarian didn't know) but it definitely depressed me.

Well, now I'll just have to start a group up myself! Maybe in the fall, though, after the 120+ summer days have passed, and people might be interested in knitting again, as the windy fall approaches. It'll give me time to get used to the new job and all, too. Aaaand give me enough time to figure out how to go about starting up a club on post too, now that I think about it.... :)

So, it's been 3 weeks now...

I guess it's time to tell y'all a little about how life is out here in the CA desert. Yes, I did just use y'all - I may not be the most su'th'n girl here on post, but I do firmly believe that y'all has a valid grammatical use, and I intend to keep using it :)

Anyway...

Post is tiny. And isolated. And brown. And dry. That's pretty much how to sum it up. It's definitely in the middle of nowhere. It's odd though - there's so much to do in this area of the country - national parks, LA, Vegas - just none of it HERE. It's all here, if you're willing to drive a bit. Lots of things in day-trip, or weekend-trip, or long-weekend-trip radius. Just nothing here on post. As for "in town," it's about 30-40 minutes into Barstow, the nearest town (which isn't much of a town - I might have mentioned that). It's about an hour, give or take, into Victorville, which is the closest real town (i.e. bookstore, mall, Target, ethnic restaurants... the good stuff). We're getting used to having 2 shopping lists going, one for 'in-town' and one for 'on-post.' (And yes, everytime I think of going 'in town,' all I hear in my head is "Don't go into town, Tonto! Don't go into town!")

Post itself is about a mile radius. Well, at least the inhabited part of post is. The rest of post is very big and very empty. Useful for training purposes, but not so much for the people who live here. See?

This picture was taken on one of my runs, through my neighborhood and the one next to ours. It's a view of post from a hill, looking out across post. And yes, that is the end of the inhabited part of post you see in the distance there. I do rather like this picture, though, as it IS a pretty view from that hill, and all pretty and hazy at sunset. Still, it is rather unusual to see the complete other side of town from where you're standing...

One of the oddest things I'm having to get used to is the brown-ness of everything. Our houses are tan with brown roofs, and all the office buildings and such are either brown or tan, and yards are just plain brown. Even the fire hydrants are brown here! Supposedly this is actually the green season, and one of the greener ones at that, but I'm having a hard time believing that. I'm sure I'll realize how green it was come July, when everything is BROWN. :) Some trees are kinda green - but check out the daggers on this one! Not an inviting plant! From one of Zach's co-workers, those thorns can punch right through the soles of your shoes!!

But, at the same time, post does have some pretty moments. :) I just have to make sure to look for them! I think that's the only way I'll not go crazy-homesick for water and green and people - look for something nice each day about where I am, something to appreciate, something I wouldn't find anywhere else. Sounds like a simple strategy, right? I just have to remind myself about it sometimes though :)

Well, I think that's all for tonight. Thoughts on the new job will wait 'til next week, and thoughts on desert landscaping are going to be a whole 'nother post unto themselves!

G is for...

Golden Gate Bridge!

This picture was taken November '06, when Zach was in Monterey, and I went out to visit for a week or so. One of our days was spent going up to San Francisco and wandering around - took the nice scenic drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, saw the Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard St and Fisherman's Wharf. Played tourist, really, but it was so much fun! And since it was the first time either of us had been there, we're allowed to be silly tourists :) The picture above was taken at the northern tower of the bridge. We drove across the bridge, parked at the view point there, and walked out to the northern tower. It's so much bigger than it seems in picture, and that's saying something. This shot was looking straight up that northern tower. It's so tall, you almost start to get dizzy looking up, and I wanted to remember that.

I also love this picture of the two of us, with the bridge in the background. One of my favorites of us, actually.

This trip meant an awful lot to me, because of where I was with work and the move to SC and all. I'd been in SC about 10 months when I went out to visit, and the stress of Horrible Job was starting to take its toll on me. Besides being lots of fun, and a chance to visit lots of new and different places I'd never been before, and see my guy for the first time in 6+ months, this trip was a chance to relax and escape Horrible Job and feel like myself again. So, I guess I might have left my heart in San Francisco, or a least a little of it :)

So how was YOUR day today?

Mine was rough. Productive, but rough.

Had to go to my drug test for the new job. No waiting at all! They were ready for me in about as much time as it took me to sit down and pull out my book! I was so surprised. When I had to go in SC, I waited nearly an hour - my bladder was about to burst!! Here, I just walked right in! Hey, maybe being in a small town does have some advantages ;)

But then, the DMV.... For the new job, I have to have a CA driver's license. Fine, no problem. The DMV however had the HUGEST line! I waited for nearly 1 1/2 hrs just to get INSIDE!! Overall, it took me over 2 1/2 hrs (close to 3!!) to go through the line and get my license. The way the office was set up, it moved rather quickly once you were inside, but it just took forever to get inside. Apparently yesterday was a state holiday (Cesar Chavez day, I think someone said??), so the state offices were closed. Which means everyone came in today to get their licenses or registrations or whatever else they needed taken care of. I'm glad I didn't drive 'into town' yesterday. I'd've been very frustrated to drive 40 minutes into Barstow and find out the office I needed was closed. Still, there were people in line around me who'd come up from Apple Valley. They'd been to the office in Victorville first this morning, and said that that line was even worse than the one in Barstow!! Still, I did get everything done and my new license should be arriving soon (don't know why CA mails it out to you, but they do).

I think I've been spoiled by the DMV back in VA. The one near our house there was one of the newer ones. People didn't think to go there, so it was never packed. And there were plenty of counters (being new and all) - the whole range of counters weren't always open, but they were there. I have actually seen really busy days when most of them were open - was very surprised. I remember talking with one of the guys in my office in SC who had lived in VA near where I grew up. He and I agreed that the DMV offices there were pretty efficient, especially compared to the SC ones which were HORRIBLE! The CA one was bad, in that it had a long wait, but it went pretty smoothly - just needed twice as many people working the counters today. SC would have long waits, and still be inefficient.

(sigh) The DMV.... a necessary evil, I guess. But! At least I'm done with them for a while now! I'm a California girl now! Or something like that...

Oh, and if you're still having a hard time visualizing just how long I was waiting in line there, here's what I was working on:

I cast on a few minutes after I joined the line, and worked on it until I reached the head of the line. It's almost done. Just a dishcloth, but it's still almost done. It's the Finder's Keepers Pattern (mid-Feb from the KAL), but worked in a light blue and a light blue ombre. You can't always see the slip-stitch pattern, but it was an easy pattern I remembered off-hand there in line (something besides garter stitch!) and I think it has an interesting look to it, so I'm not totally displeased :)