In Jail

I took a tour or the L.A. Men's Central Jail today. What a depressing, soul-sucking place! I think I could do most of the cop jobs but not this one. But the thing is, this is the first place you are required to work after graduation from the academy. They tell you that you have to work a least one year in custody (jail) and one year of patrol before you are able to move to any of the other specialty jobs. Sometimes, however, you get stuck working in custody well past one year. With the slow down of hiring, due to the recession, word on the street is that most new deputies will be working custody for 3-4 years!

I think working in this environment would change me in ways that I would not be happy with - at really deep, core levels. I'm a pretty light-hearted person. Sure I have my down days like everyone, but I'm mostly a kind, easy-to-get-along-with type. I'm fairly satisfied with my temperament. I kind of like myself just the way I am and I feel it would be close to impossible to keep this work from affecting me. So unless something happens to change my mind by tomorrow, I'll be ditching this possible career path.

I'll give you more of the details of what it was like "in the big house" soon. On a purely sociological level it was pretty damn interesting to see how that society works, survives and develops it's own hierarchy.

So the question is: Now what am I going to do?

Eostre/Easter

A small tidbit. (the question that just popped into my mind is where does the word tidbit come from? Inquiring minds want to know but I digress.)

Easter is named for the goddess of spring Eostre, which many pagan cultures held/hold festivals for. Fertility is central to the theme so hares and eggs played symbolic parts.

Happy Spring Everyone!

Snow Cake

I saw a movie tonight that I really liked. It was called Snow Cake and stared Alan Rickman (Professor Snape from the Harry Potter movies) and Sigouney Weaver (who I think Is a brilliant actress.)

It was this nice slice of life movie about healing and dealing with difficult situations and getting to know yourself better. A man with a difficult past, who's pretty locked up goes through a life changing event and ends up spending time with an autistic woman and a few others who help him recover and reclaim his life. I don't want to give too much away but the acting is great and the message is hopeful but not in that obvious, cliched way. There are some breathtaking scenes. It makes you question what a lot of people take for granted as "normal" behavior - of course I do that regularly anyway!

Check it out - especially if you'd like a break from the usual formula movies that get so much mainstream attention.

Other Adventures

I like having trips, outings, and adventures planned. I love a good road trip too. So Saturday I'm going out to Palm Springs for the day. It's the Dinah Shore weekend which is a huge gathering of lesbian-type people. A friend has rented a house there for the week and I think I'm going to spend at least part of the day lounging by her pool. I'm planning to go to where the hoards of women are and pass out ad cards for a woman's only martial arts class I'm starting May 4th. Networking - that's the way to go I hear.

In May it looks like I'm going up north to Chico to do a self defense workshop, and then there's the local Pride festival the following weekend and possibly the Maker Faire at the end of the month.

Mid June finds me signed up to intern at a permaculture based farm in Oregon for a week. These three women own 46 acres. There's no pay but I get room and board in exchange for 20 - 30 hours of work. Here's a list of what they're working on:

- gardens and orchard
- creating a gray water and rain water catchment system
- finishing the cob studios (plastering, cob floors)
- building a pottery studio (carpentry, rock work)
- building a permanent greenhouse (rock work, cob - bale/cob, carpentry)

These are the types of things I've been wanting to do for a long time. Plus, the owners are into writing, playing, and recording music and they say they love to jam with their guests that are into that. I haven't done this in a while but it could be fun. I guess I'll bring my guitar.

There are some possible outings for July but I do have tickets to go see Heart and our Demo Team will be performing at the county fair.

I like this. It suits me well. Seize the day!

Falling Apart

Newsflash - my body seems to be falling apart. You know that stuffy ear I complained about 6 weeks ago? Yep, still stuffed. And you know when I complained about being sore and not being sure if I wasn't injured? Yep, still twinging with mild pain when I move wrong.

I hate this. I'm the person who bounces back quickly. I'm giving it till Monday then will resort to getting professional help. In the meantime I'm trying some home remedies - hot water bottles, eucalyptus oil, menthol rub, etc. I hate spending money to have it checked out. I have this friggin' high-deductable health insurance so that I can afford the monthly rate. Sigh.... complain, complain.