Continued

When I moved to Rochester, MN, I was finishing up my job in Connecticut and starting a new one in Minnesota plus moving so I was a little pressed for time. I looked at two apartments to rent and both were just horrible. The realtor guy said there weren't any more rentals but he knew of a condo for sale.

I spent maybe 10 minutes in it and then hired an inspector to make sure it was worth the purchase and bought it. Or, rather, mortgaged it. $60,000. It was pretty big - maybe 2,000 square feet. And ugly. And had a double wall oven which was a great place to store my shoes - eye level, with lights inside and racks.

There was a massive outside area - like a porch that someone had closed in. I had the movers put all the boxes out there. I unpacked the basics and never even touched 80% of the boxes. My life in Rochester had very little down time.

When I did have time off, I spent it online - dial up electronic bulletin boards. I met a lot of wonderful people who helped me learn more and more about computers but also about stuff going on in and around Rochester.

I only spent 18 months in Rochester but I managed two winters and I loved them both. The snow was amazing and beautiful. And it lasted forever and much of it never got dirty. You'd drive down the roads with big white pillows of snow on each side. The air was always so crisp and clean. It was amazing.

It did get a might chilly. It was (and, I suspect still is) quite common to see electrical plugs coming out the front grill of cars and electrical outlets in some parking places. This was NOT in place of gas. It was simply to keep your car from freezing and never driving again.

The IBM plant had this huge parking lot with nowhere to plug in. It was not uncommon to trudge out to your car in the parking lot and not have it start. IBM ran a service on days when it was below zero (and there were many). Auto mechanics equipped with what you needed to get going drove up and down the parking lot rows. If your car didn't start, you just needed to raise you hood and they would come find you.

Some days you'd leave the building and look down the rows and see lots of hood up. They called it Alligator Alley. Amazing. And... so cool. Fortunately, this was before they made you go outside to smoke.

The snow lasted until nearly July 4. It always amazed me that it was hot enough outside to wear shorts and t-shirts and there was still snow on the ground. But the very minute it melted, it went from beautiful and crisp and clean and wonderful to horrible and hot and humid and omg the bugs. I've always hated mosquitoes and they have always loved me. In Minnesota they are the size of 747's and I swear you can hear a crunch when they bits you. It was just horrible. It was only for a couple of months but they were miserable months. The Minnesotans thought they were great months but not me. Ugh. I was deeply grateful that I only had to suffer through one Minnesota summer.

To Be Continued

Swimming in pea soup

The pool today was gross. The water was very nearly opaque and green. It looked toxic. I'm sure it wasn't but yuck. It was also crowded. But I got my 2,000 yards in and showered really thoroughly after so, hopefully, it won't have been fatal.

On the way into the locker room, I ran into the front desk lady and asked her if anyone had mentioned it. She said she was on her way to check right now. When she came back she said she was going to look into a fix and for sure the pool guy would be there tomorrow. (So, when I swim tomorrow at 5 am it will likely be even worse. GROSS) She said it was because people don't take a shower before they get in. WTF? Lady, I've been swimming in this very same pool every day for 3 years. It's been too cold. It's been too hot. It's never been green. So, all of a sudden after 3 years, people stop taking a pre-swim shower and it turns to pea soup in a day? I a bit skeptical.

But, the reality is that it's probably not any more toxic than when it looks clean and clear. Who knows that shit I swim in every day. It reminds me of the 60's when they came out with colored toilet paper - blue and pink and green and even, I think, yellow. It was all the rage. It was the era of colored bathroom tile and fixtures. The colored toilet paper was short lived, however, because the word on the street was that the dyes needed were toxic. The reality was, at the time anyway, the dyes needed to make the toilet paper white were way stronger and way more potentially harmful that the colored ones. But... logic. So pea soup is likely as safe as pretty. It just feels so ick.

Tonight is lights out night. The electricity is slated to end at 7 pm which means, probably, 7:30. It's expected to come on again at 3 which means, probably, midnight. PIA. I need to see what I have downloaded from Netflix and make sure it's a couple of hours worth of distraction. I do have a good audiobook started on my phone. It will be fine. It's just annoying.

The Mariners play this afternoon and then leave town and are off tomorrow. They lost so badly last night that the already sparse crowd started leaving after the 4th inning. They are playing a team that sucks as badly as they do so they will probably win today. I wonder what it would be like to root for a team that is good and playoff bound. For years, I was an Atlanta Braves fan - this was a decade before they every saw a playoff game. Then I spent a year or two as a Twins fan long before their glory days. Maybe the Mariners need me to pick a new team so they can go on to glory. Sorry, guys. You are stuck with me.

Just now, some random dude was walking down the street with a karaoke machine just singing to nobody in the sunshine. Seattle, I love you.

I going to head to the sewing machine and finish up the shirt I started yesterday.

At least...

At least I did not buy those fancy dancy Mariner tickets in hopes of watching games where the home team wins. Last night - playing a team that sucks - they were down 0-4 in the first inning. Today, same team, they were down 0-5 in the first inning. They are 0-8 in the 7th now. geesh.

I'm soon going to have too many shirts. But, I've still got ideas I want to try shirt-wise speaking. I do think I'll stop shirt production sometime this week and make a few dolls and/or a new swim suit.

Here's the latest bear:

Why did I do that?

I was eating dinner when all of a sudden it occurred to me to call the gym and check on the pool. So I did. Sure enough, they closed it today and aren't going to open it again until after the pool guy comes. He's supposed to come tomorrow morning but I know from past experience that the people who answer the phone always say the pool guy will be there tomorrow morning regardless of any actual facts.

So. 1. no swimming there tomorrow morning and 2. call again tomorrow afternoon.

I'm really surprised (and delighted) that I even thought to call. No clue where that idea came from. Weird.

I have two pools to pick from tomorrow morning. One is 20 minutes south (deep end, chlorine likely not crowded) at 5:45 and one is 20 minutes north (nice, calm, pool, no traffic issues) at 5. It's a toss up. So I think I'll go for a snap decision in the morning depending on what time I wake up.

Gosh, I'm glad I called and didn't just automatically get in the car and go.

Ooops. I need to get in and clean up the kitchen before the juice gets cut in 30 mins.