January 22, 2008

Getting It All Together




A green at the Sail Ho Golf Course at the old NTC, Point Loma, Jan 2008.



My family was golf mad. Not just one generation of madness either, it permeated my family until at 20 Second Avenue there was a long shelf of blackened, silver trophies in the genuine basement. “Won at the old Blue Mound Golf and Country Club,” mother would say.

Blue Mound was the first course in Wisconsin to host a PGA major: the 1933 PGA Championship, won by Gene Sarazen. Gene Sarazen was often mentioned at dinner in some hushed tones of veneration, as golf was the only neutral topic. Then again, once we moved to Chula Vista, the San Diego Country Club’s pro’s opinion decided all arguments at our house. Best of all was if one golfed ones age said my grandfather who tried to do just that every day.

I spent many days at the Club when I was growing up. I loved the first nine with the dramatic hills, tall trees, and difficult greens. I hated the hot, flat back nine. Often I could be found putting at the putting green or on the porch reading not going round the course. If nothing else, I learned how to talk golf well. This coming week, I will be using my dormant linguistic skills while helping golfers and fans at the Buick Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course.

Last year at the Buick, I wasn’t very functional with IBS, hives, and Duck’s collapse coming right at the beginning of eight days at the Open. I see I managed to irritate lots of people at work yet had no time to leave notes or even write regularly in OD that year. In 2006, every note complains of tiredness, yet we managed to shop for the Men’s homeless shelter, buy a car after work, and take Duck out to Fat City for his joint birthday steak with G.

I love the OD organizational system because I can go to the calendar function and find what I was doing at any day, any date, anywhere, any year. In 2005 and 2004, I was a success at the Buick not like last year where I got fired from the fancy suite and put to work for ATT instead. It was just as cold last year, but perhaps this year there will be more rain.

Today I try on uniforms. What fits? Will the new warm wool blazer fit over my many layers? No, it doesn’t. Are my clean shirts still clean after a year on hangers? Yes, they are. I need to rummage, find my layers, bits, and orts. This is the only place I wear my very expensive fanny pack too. I need to find that….somewhere in the bowels of the closet.

Tomorrow we are out of here by five. I’ll miss not getting as many days as in the previous years, but my back and hip will love it. I consider this a trial run for the upcoming year in baseball.



Duck: He did remember his cousin called the hospital today. She also called G at work and announced that she was coming here. She wanted to know what G had done with all his stuff. What happened to everything from the big house and all the things from her childhood. My question was, didn’t she know he was a drunk? She wanted to see everything and was incredulous that it was all gone as per his instructions. For a moment I panicked until I remembered that we took room pictures of Duck’s last apartment.

Clothing: We have been informed that the staff wishes to allow the residents as much “autonomy” as possible with their clothing. I assure you that we are having a continuing discussion of this with the staff.

Visits: This next week, G and I will continue to visit every day, but there may not be mentions of his condition here until the Buick Open is over. His cousin is arriving for a visit next week. We cannot reach her to discover the date as her phone is set to fax.

Me: Stretching….moving as many hours as I can move. Only collapsed into tiredness after gutting and cleaning the top kitchen cabinets around two. Kept moving all day Saturday too. Not bad. Getting rid of one set of Russell Wright…wonder if Eldest wants them. Nice simple 1939 set. Dark green tho.

Nightmares last night. Dreamed I was late to the Buick and no one wanted me over and over again. The ticking of the clock in the computer room kept waking me, and I was hot and miserable.

The Oven. This is the second time I have tried to fix something nice in the oven, and it just flat out didn't cook. We were able to pop dinner in the microwave last night and decide that the over wasn't cooking any more, not coming up to temperature tho it is turning on. I'll deal with it after the Buick.

And check out this loverly list: Typographical Errors in Library Databases. Facinating.

G: Treating his computer like the antique computer it is. At least his employers eventually take action.

Weather: San Diego: 56 for the high. 43 for the low. Chance of showers 30%. Cloud layer one mile thick.

WW: I’m continuing to stick to my Points Program with a breakfast of veggies, half sandwich and veggies for lunch, and dinner as a veggie myself. I've now reached the low I was at last year, my first goal for this year. G didn't lose any this week. Chips and cookies at the Buick will probably blow my good intention to heck and gone. I'll eat to drive away the cold and damp.

2 comments:

  1. I think you are amazing with everything you are doing. I also think it's awful that Duck's relative, who has had little or nothing to do with him, is behaving like a vulture. I've seen so much of this as people age and pass away. Amazing how it brings out the selfishness and greed in some of us.

    Keep warm; be kind to your hip.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't know what to say except stay strong.

    ReplyDelete

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