January 18, 2011

Transitions -- AGAIN?!?

Man, the last 2+ weeks have whizzed by. Between traveling, illness, freelance, illness, packing and preparing to relocate (again)—and ILLNESS, I've hardly had time to do the things I like best, one of which is blog for my favorite people. That's you all. You complete me, and you know it, don't you?

This chest cold or flu, or whatever the hell it is, makes me cranky. It's slashed my life-is-worth-living determination with a thousand little daggers of misery. Anyway . . .

Life transitions are so funny. Not ha-ha funny, cuz if that were the case, I'd be laughing a lot more. My serotonin levels would be through the roof, and floating across the room instead of dragging ass would be the norm. No, I mean funny as in odd or even fickle. Life transitions (like packing up and moving all by yourself) are easy to make when the conditions are ripe and juicy, but so much harder to swallow when your alternatives are limited. With the latter, your attitude makes all the difference. I've been all over the map with attitude the last month. The Florida and Texas maps. Only making a decision on whether to stay or go can set me free.

I love Central Florida, but it has such a depressed economy, I don't know how people make ends meet. Not only are jobs few and far between, the available ones offer pittance for pay. No wonder people struggle more here than most places in the country. Plus, as a Bible belt, it's dominated by ultra conservatives, and unless I'm willing to convert on both counts, I'll continue to feel frowned upon. Oh, the life of an Independent heathen in a Faux News stronghold! My eyes have never rolled more often.

Though the precarious job situation has been tough on me, from a writer's perspective, I've accomplished a lot of what I came to Florida to do. It's just not sustainable right now. Maybe one day . . . So, it's back to Austin for me, y'all. And now that I've decided, I'm optimistic about the future again!

But I could use some antibiotics.
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January 1, 2011

Buzzed for 2011

Happy New Year! I brought in 2011 in Austin with my daughter Coco and her family and some very special friends.



Early in the eve, Ruby arrived.

Coco had the honor of shearing Ruby's hair.

Note:  Cancer can suck it!

And chemo is rude.




Post-buzz, Ruby's fiancĂ© Chris got a solidarity buzz.

Sweetest couple around.


Coco and me at midnight.

She is so gorgeous and full of life.

Note her beautiful locks.


Me and the nanaboys.

They like to cut up.
Where do they get it?

(No idea who the drunken reveler is in the background, but he is admirably passionate.)



Uh-oh.

It's 1 a.m.
Do you know where your hair is?

Yikes! That's a lotta locks on the floor.

And they belong to . . .




. . . Coco who gets the solidarity buzz.

Showing support for her best bud Ruby.

Aren't they both beautiful?

It's a family affair.

The boys show their support of their mom's best friend and get buzzed too.

Today, many of Ruby's friends and family buzzed their heads to show her their support.

Good friends enrich our lives so much. I'm so proud of my daughter for being there for Ruby in this special way.

That's the way to kick off 2011, isn't it?

And, oh yeah, I got buzzed in a totally different way . . .
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