Pre-Launch Adventures in San Luis Obispo

How many people do you know that have been kicked out of a cemetery? I wasn't even peeing or turning over stones - I was just cleaning a few interesting headstones and taking pictures at the San Luis Cemetery on Higuera. The manager came over and read me the riot act for being in the cemetery and not having family there. When I explained that I was taking pictures for folks on a website for genealogy hunters, he really went ballistic.

MAN! He yelled at me, telling me what a liability it was for me to be there, for taking pictures of stones without permission, doing "business" without any payment to them (I TOLD him I was a volunteer AND apologized for breaking his cemetery rules!) I asked him what I did wrong and he said that I should not be running my "business" out of his cemetery. He also said that I should be asking permission before I go on private property. Maybe I took too many pictures or they had some weird terrorist threat or something. (Back in Iowa, heck - we had picnics in the cemetery just cause it is nice to include folks no longer with us and also gives you time to pick out a good permanent spot.)

 I dunno -- I just thought it was very bizzare to be kicked out. Hurt mah wittle feewing, too.

So I went to another one and went to the office to ask permission. The folks at Los Osos Memorial Park were great. Not only did they say I was welcome to take what ever pictures I wanted, they also got out their books, told me where the 6 people were buried and gave me a map of the cemetery with the spots marked. I loved them to pieces, and did my pre-planned funeral (which is transferable to any member cemetery in the USA.) I'm really glad I got that done. I am going to write my will tomorrow night. That way, if this Great Adventure goes south, so to speak, the boys just pretty much have to pick out the plot and show up for the party. THAT Anita was a sweetie.

Then I got to see my friend Tara (WELCOME TO THE TRIBE, GIRLIE!). We had a nice chat, I found a home for the kosher meat I had in the freezer and all my jars of kosher chicken and chicken soup. I'm glad I have her cell and email address. 

To cap off the day, I went to dinner at Tuviya's and my favorite restaurant, Taj Palace on Foothill Blvd. Raj Singh is the very nicest man. T was worried about him a few years ago because he lost A LOT of weight very quickly. (Yeah , we ate there that often.) They have a really great buffet for lunch, that always include naan bread, some kind of spinach dish (saag batata or saag paneer -- T's all time favorite vegetable!), pakora (deep fried veggies in a spicy garbanzo bean batter), mint or cilantro chutney and tandoori chicken (so NOT kosher - chicken marinated in yogurt and spices, then baked in a special clay oven).
Here is a picture of us on July 5, 2009 at the Taj Palace.

However, did I eat any of those things? Sort of. I had MY favorite dinner -- a Fish Combination Dinner, called a thali plate. There was fish curry (*swoon*), tandoori fish, saag batata (spinach and potato curry), naan bread, basmati rice, raita (yogurt and cucuber salad), bean curry and dessert of rice pudding with fresh strawberries. We talked about the Grand Adventure, my nephew Neelesh (whom he remembered from Neelesh's CalPoly days) and he went back and got me the URL of the Indian Consulate. I am really sorry to have to say farewell to Raj. He is just such a nice guy. They make great chai tea, too. And I love budeshep (the candy coated fennel seeds that Indians serve after dinner.) I am really looking forward to seeing my nieces and nephews in India. Well, it will be another fabulous place to visit when I make it back to SLO.

Last, but not least, I packed the trunk of the car. Yup. I may need to send some of this stuff to Anil's house through the USPS. And to think I got rid of a bunch of stuff. Guess not enough. (I can just see T jumping up and down on the cloud going - "No shit, I told you that BEFORE I died.")

Time to watch Lie to Me on the Internet at FOX.com and try to digest all my yummy dinner.

Well, dang it, it's almost time....

When I packed the POD for storage, I think I may have been a little too optimistic about how much junk I could fit in the car. Oh, of course, I can hear an echo of Tuviya's voice: 

T: Do you really need all that chazzeri ~ honestly, there are stores in all 50 states. Trust me, Honey!

Me: But what if I don't want to stop at a store? What if it is night time? And I am tired and don't want to go shopping? I HATE shopping!

T: Hummm, a woman that hates to shop...Seriously, T, you need to work on that. That may be a pathology outside of my area of expertise...*snicker*

SOOOOO, back in August, I had a 2004 Kia Spectra that Bill the Awesome Mechanic at SLOMotive said was okay, but not really long-haul-worthy. I thought I would just look around on the Internet to see what cars were available in San Luis Obispo. Just looking, thinking of getting something bigger so I could haul around still more crap, as T would put so directly. (Yep, that's my T. Direct.) 

Okay, so I bought a bigger car - a Volvo. The aquisition of said vehicle was, um, interesting. I like Volvos. Ever since I worked at The Flyer Group, a company that designs and manufactures vehicles for Special Operations Forces, I have luuuuuvvved Volvos. Amit and Oded both had them, so I KNEW they were great cars. And my Oldest Son has had TWO Volvos - both of which he kept until the cars were well over 300,000 miles on the odometers - and sold them both still running.
Back to the story: I looked on the Yahoo Car website (well, I found T on Yahoo in 1998 so I am sure there's other good stuff there!), I looked on the SLO classified, then I started looking on Craigslist. I saw a 2000 Volvo S80. (Did I mention that I LUV Volvos?) So I said to myself: Self, I am just going to look, it is more than I can spend. Then I saw it. OOOHHHH, it was metallic green, in MINT condition, the owner had purchased it brand new, he had kept the maintenance logs for the past ten years and the interior looked JUST LIKE the Lexus that T had tried to get me to take in 2007! 105K miles, so it has another 400K miles left (Volvos are THAT good!). And I drove it.

Then I said to myself: Self, if the owner will take payments until I get the settlement from the estate, I will buy it. And the owner agreed to payments.

Then, there I was sitting at DMV waiting to transfer the title in September, just minding my own business and I realize several things may just be a little more than coincidence:

1. The car is MY favorite car.
2. It is T's favorite color.
3. The interior looks like the interior of the car HE wanted me to drive.
4. The car was FIRST titled on our civil wedding date (11/10/2000).
5. The owner signed the title off using just his first initial -- T instead of his full first name.

Call me crazy if you want, I think it is pretty cool. I think T is looking out for me, just like he promised he would.

Back on topic, I plan to post some of our favorite places in SLO over the next four days. Especially if the rain lets up tomorrow...Hope you enjoy the view!  

Video of the Week

Tennessee Line ~ Chris Daughtry



Tennessee Line lyrics
Songwriters: Craddock, Brian; Daughtry, Chris;
I open my lungs to breathe in forgiveness and love
Haunting me now reminders of how I used to be
And on down the road my troubles are sure to follow
Looking out the window, the hell if I know where I will go
So I'll just keep on driving

On my way to L.A. looking into the rear view as the roads fade away
I've sworn off my past, first to last bad call that I ever made
Tell me how to make right every wrong turn that I've learned
So this can all end tonight, Tennessee line just changed my mind
Well, it's my heart I'll follow this time

Who would've known that pride is so hard to swallow?
As I rest on the shoulder of a road growing colder
With the trouble I own, should I just keep on driving?

On my way to L.A. looking into the rear view as the roads fade away
I've sworn off my past, first to last bad call that I ever made
Tell me how to make right every wrong turn that I've learned
So this can all end tonight, Tennessee line just changed my mind
Well, it's my heart I'll follow this time

I know I must be doing something right
Head the other way, back to where I started out
Ask myself if I can turn it all around tonight
And stop living with doubt

On my way to L.A. looking into the rear view as the roads fade away
I've sworn off my past, first to last bad call that I ever made
Tell me how to make right every wrong turn that I've learned
So this can all end tonight, Tennessee line just changed my mind
Well, it's my heart I'll follow this time

I've sworn off my past, first to last bad call that I ever made
It's my heart I'll follow this time
I've sworn off my past, first to last bad call that I ever made
I'm gonna turn it all around tonight, turn it all around tonight
Turn it all around tonight
I'm gonna turn it all around tonight at the Tennessee line

Themes for the Great New Adventure

Talking to friends is a lovely way to find fabulous new ideas for just about everything. My new friend, Jennifer has this quote on her FaceBook page:

It is better to obey the mysterious direction, without any fuss, when it points to a new road, however strange that road may be. There is probably as much reason for it, if the truth were known, as for anything else. - H. M. Tomlinson

And two people have suggested the title:

Where in the World is Tamarah?

So what's a nearly released vagabond to do?

Change the title.

:-)