My Old School

I grew up in Houston, Texas and went to Robert E. Lee High School.

Yes, there were Confederate Battle Flags.

Last year, the Houston Independent School District's Board decided that the name needed to be changed along with the names of a few other schools named after heroes of the Confederacy.

Because Billy Gibbons went there, I was hoping for ZZ Top High School.   That would really give people apoplexy because a lot of ZZ Top songs cover themes that are beyond PG.  And this is Texas.

But a drill team doing its stuff while the band plays, "Legs," would be interesting.

That said, if the Trustees approve the measure on May 12, the school will be renamed, "Margaret Long Wisdom High School."

At least the timing is perfect. The replacement building should be up and running in time for the new school year.

Technical difficulties

If it isn't one thing it is another on the technical difficulties front.

First, my using LibreOffice Base to solve problems hit major snags which means doing it in MySQL.  Someone is getting a lot of free work, BUT I will probably never forget how to set something up in MySQL - A good thing.

Then my phone froze.  With the help of a YouTube video, I unfroze it. - A good thing.

There is an outstanding issue about a file not properly uploading.  The bug has been reported, but I haven't heard anything.  What is strange is that the application is used 24/7 by people who freelance and need to get paid.  The culprit is a timesheet.  You would think the customer service would be 24/7 as well.  Sigh.

Maybe I will solve the problem before they do.

And I am getting the administrative stuff done - A good thing.

See a thread here?  I have gotten more and more zen like about stuff that goes wrong.

And I know why.

Because Rick died at home, I was the one who first noticed that he was dead.  I said the appropriate prayers, made a keriah tear in my shirt and got the ball rolling on disposition of Rick's remains.  At that point, I also realized that going forward, hiccups, problems and whatnot are nickel - dime stuff when it comes to the big picture.

So, I am just plugging away at solutions.

And five more weeks to go.

It's Just So Wrong

As my bank account got replenished today, I did some shopping at Wal Mart in Palm Springs and Costco in Palm Desert.  To get from Wal Mart to Costco, you go down Dinah Shore Drive.

I was driving a Honda.

If I am driving down Dinah Shore Drive,  I expect to hum, "So make a date today, and see the USA, and see it in a Chevrolet!" instead of, "Follow the leader.  He drives a Honda."

But this misadventure also reminds me of two things that entertain me about the area.  First, I am in the land where we have Dinah Shore Dr.,  Bob Hope Dr., Kirk Douglas Way, Gene Autry, Tr., and other streets named after figures from Hollywood's past.  In one way, it's campy.  In another way it's cool.

The other thing is that in Mid Century Modern Palm Springs, there are people who drive cars of the same era as daily drivers.  In most cases, the cars are well cared for and the owners love to receive complements.  I am thinking of doing the same thing, but I will make sure they did the environmentally correct R134a conversion for the air conditioner.

What did you expect? we are in California.

German Engineering.

Here is your weird factoid of the day.

The only place in the world where Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud compete against each other is the United States.  In their native Germany, Nord has the northern half (and Trader Joe's products because it owns Trader Joe's in the US) and Sud has the southern half.  This was after a spat between Albrechts over selling cigarettes in the store.

Palm Springs has an Aldi.  Cathedral City has a Trader Joe's.  I think you would come out even on a grocery run.

There is, however, one big difference.  Aldi makes its suppliers engineer the box in such a way that it does double duty as shelving.  I find it to be German Engineering at its finest, and it fascinates me as much as the time Mercedes - Benz rolled out the 1981 S Class models with a power seat controller shaped like a car seat.

Microaggressions

One of the blogs I follow is that of David Tuttle, who is the Dean of Students at my Alma Mater Trinity University.  It seems that one student group wanted a speaker to provide another perspective on my least favorite subject - microaggressions.

I have a vague idea of what one is because of one question that is asked of me by Anglo folk in the US when they look at my business card with a middle and last name that is obviously Spanish and ask me, "What country are you from?"

As I understand this, this can be construed as a microaggression.  The rationale behind it being a microagression is that the question is asked out of malice in that a Latino working in some sort of professional capacity could not possibly be from the United States (and how did having to encounter a Latino guy in our precious All Anglo All the Time Enclave happen in the first place?)

As I also understand it, I should call the asker on it and scream that they are nothing less than a complete bigot and afterwards run away and cower into my nearest safe space.

Really?

I just answer the question honestly.  I say, "Texas."

That shuts them up real fast.

We are now resuming our regularly scheduled programming.

But first, let's talk about the fact that I am basically a cheapskate.

For a long time in my early adulthood, I was basically broke, and living a hand to mouth existence.  I learned how to live on very little money, and to this day I am not really all that materialistic.  And that aspect was amped up big time as I dismantled the apartment.  It really is just stuff.

That being said, I got my arm twisted by my housemate to spend the weekend at All Worlds / Inn Exile in Palm Springs.  

OK, it was a little pricey, but we had a good time there.  And I learned that we see eye to eye on the idea that you don't do stuff like that alone.  Although it would SOUND as if it would be a good idea in light of the fact many people go to engage in NC-17 activity with strangers, it's really not the case.  First you need to compare notes.  Second a wingman is useful in this situation.

My housemate and I sleep in separate bedrooms, but I will also admit to one thing.  I like sleeping in the same bed with him!  It is a nice feeling (especially since damnit he is a great guy who is nice to cuddle with.)  Worst case scenario, I got practice in sleeping with others.

And it was probably worth the money because we both needed the break.

Just a quick hi.

Yes, I missed Thursday and Saturday.

Right now I am thrilled that I am sharing a bed with an attractive man.

More later.