AJAX BELL

Author of the Queen City Boys books

Tag Archives: nashville rash


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Mr. Darcy, spring and whiny

How cute is this guy?  That's exactly what Mr. Darcy looked like in my head the first time I read Pride and Predjuduce.  (HA!!  I just read the comments when I went to get the link and apparently not the only one making the Mr. Darcy connection!)

My weekend was too long on the negatives and too short on the actual weekend, though I had a very nice time last night.  Cooked burgers out on the grill and hung out with Big Daddy Sligh and couple folks.  Am now trying to finish up work as quickly as possible, so I can go out and enjoy the sunshine, which in this case, might mean sewing with the door open, so I can finish all my current stacked sewing projects.

Other things I meant to post about but am actually too lazy to go into in depth:

  • I'm a bad friend for not visiting my friends enough
  • Hives, possibly stress induced, on my face. Or maybe the lack of sneezing means this is how my allergies are manifesting this year?
  • New shoes, awesome! Still need sandals, not at all inspired by anything this year, must waste hours looking for something appropriate.
  • Birthday one week away.  Have deep thoughts on aging, maybe will share later.
  • Sunshine!  I love sunshine!  LOVE LOVE LOVE!
  • Going to Seattle May 28-Jun 4. Hopefully have already emailed everyone who really needs to know this.

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I’ve got the joy joy joy

Ideally, I would leave my house in the morning and drive straight to work, perhaps stopping at the Post Office, which is on the way, and arriving on time.  Turning around and back tracking not once, but twice is less than ideal.  As is being 30 minutes late.  I am perhaps starting to channel Bridget Jones a little too much lately.

Things that are of the good today:

  • My ass looks great in these pants
  • One, lovely, organic, Washington state Braeburn apple, sitting in front of me
  • My friends are awesome
  • There was visible, brilliant, new, chartreuse, baby foliage on the bushes in my yard
  • And this picture I took while on my way to work today:

3-5-08
3-5-08

YES.  This means spring has arrived.  Freezing, snow, other hideous coldness (like last night) are now welcome as they are simply fleeting bumps in the transition that is the joyousness of spring. JOY JOY JOY.

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you know where you can stick your smoke, buddy?

On Thursday I go wait in line for 45 mins for emissions testing only to get told that they can not test my car because visible smoke is coming from the tailpipe.  So I check and watch car over weekend, see no smoke at all.  I decide guy is either an asshole or an idiot, since after 45 mins idling in 25 degree weather, surely something was visible from my exhaust, you know? I take car to mechanic this morning, tell him the story.  He's dubious, as he says they can only refuse to test if the "service engine" light is on, unless they've changed the law and he didn't hear about it. I leave my car with him, he tests it, he tells me, with the exact same machine they use at the state place and everything falls with in acceptable levels.  Mechanic says the only thing he can do is put a slightly heavier oil in it, which can reduce smoke if it's a problem, which he doesn't think it is. Then he tells me to go the emissions office on Craighead, not Dickerson.  Which I will do tomorrow.  Then go wait forever at the registration office again.
 
So either the guy at the emissions testing place was a total asshole or, well, I don't know what.  This is some yucktastic Mercury Retrograde bullshit, right here.  Now, I will take a deep breath and pretend that I like waiting in lines and driving all over town for no reason. But you know between the temp tag fees, extra emissions test and mechanic, there's $150 that I don't have anymore. Fucking awesome. Not to mention my time spent.

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picture overflow

I can't seem to stop posting this morning.  I really should work.

Anyway, I took a bunch of pictures this morning on my way to work for my pic-a-day, and here's a couple a I didn't choose, but I still like.  They just sort of capture this morning's grim commute.

Hermitage Hotel
Hermitage Hotel

Nashville Skyline
Nashville Skyline

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fotografía 010: on a wire

010-366
010-366

I have for a long time hoped to catch a shot of the way birds here crowd onto a wire.  This is so far from the most spectacular example of this I have seen.  What I most like about this pic is the string of green lights on the bottom. Go!!

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two left feet, two right shoes

This morning, whether we like it or not we are braving the mall.  This is utterly necessary because my dad brought two right shoes with him instead of a match pair. I refrained from actually laughing at him, because while he is hilarious, this is one of his unintentional hilarities. It is quite funny.  Though not as funny as hearing him say, in a carefully measured way, "Say, what are you talking about, Willis?"  Which makes my sister cringe and insist that he can't say it like that.  My dad in turn assures us it's the proper Scandinavian way of expressing the sentiment.  Teenageness seems to have made my sister slightly embarrassed by dad about half the time.  Which is good, I guess, since it's not 100% of the time.  Mostly she thinks he's funny too.

The big downside of going to the mall is that Dad will drive.  Even though he doesn't know his way around the city.  I will 'navigate' and my mom will 'help.'  This is extra fun because Dad is a little hard of hearing and mom just doesn't listen and thinks she's knows something, but doesn't so often gives incorrect directions. At the most crucial point my my sister will interrupt to tell us we are all annoying, and cause Dad to miss an important instruction and make, most likely, an illegal u-turn and starting the whole process all over again. I know the way, where we are going, which lane to be in etc.  but no driving for me, presumably because I am not The Dad.  Maybe I can change all that on this trip since I guarantee Dad won't like Nashville drivers.

Am generally looking forward to their visit.  I expect to spend the whole day shopping.  Hopefully that will divert from the other stuff.  Mom is already making pointed comments about people with southern accents (Ma, we are IN the South) and Dad is complaining about wine prices (Pop, it's room service is a $200 a night hotel, of course there's a mark up).

Now, I am off to Jami's to shower.  Luckily the plumber is here now, so hopefully I will have my own hot water soon.  And bless the plumber for coming, I wish I had a present for him.

Merry Christmas to those celebrating.  I hope you have at least a little joy in your hearts.  I have a lot so I'll share if you need.

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global warming doesn’t exist

The sun in at such an unavoidable angle that I can barely see my computer screen and will probably be slightly sun blind for the rest of the day.  I'm not complaining though, because it isn't a cold, wan winter sun.  It's currently 59°F at 9 am and the projected high is 72°F.  If there was ever a day to walk out on one's job, to say, "I'm going outside and I might be back, I dunno," today would be that day. The temps are, I believe, a record high for this date.  Not surprising.  I means it's not super cold in Nashville this time of year, but this is ridiculous.  Now I only have to decide how much work ethic I really have.  I might actually just say fuck it and go sit in the park.  I worked 14+ hour days 6 of the last 8 days.  The park might be just what the doctor ordered.

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’til you drop

Hols and I went thrift shopping today.  It was grey and damp, though not raining, but like 68°F!!!  Seriously?  So far, best fall ever!  Anyway, we pretty literally shopped all day.  We did get a bunch of practical stuff, like food and gas.  The thrift shopping in Nashville is ridiculously good.  Cheaper than any city I've ever lived in and you find so much stuff that new, but not like the stuff stores some times give when it doesn't sell on clearance, but stuff people clearly bought, never wore and then donated to charity.  I got a pair of indeterminately colored (dark grey/gold/green) knee-high, leather Sam & Libby boots today for $8.  Never worn.  Not even scuffed on the soles.  I also got a couple nice, heavier (wool and corduroy) skirts and two pairs of jeans, each $5 that fit like they were made for me.  I didn't even try them on before buying them, got them home and damn, perfect.  It makes me feel like I won the lottery.  It's kind of ridiculous how little I spent and how much I got.

I also got new underwear (not at thrift stores, no no no) and came home and cleared all the worn old underwear from my drawer which started a chain reaction that ended with me packing away all my cute summer tops and skirts and tidying up all my drawers and shelves and packing up a bunch of stuff to give away (anything that made me feel frumpy is now gone gone gone).

I feel massively accomplished.  My laundry is done.  All my clothes are put away.  I can find stuff!!  Of course I have a ton more stuff I want to finish this evening. Which I should be doing right now, but I'm taking a moment to just sit here in my fuzzy purple socks, sweats and no make-up and enjoying doing fuck-all.  We were going to go to a party, but I couldn't be convinced to get dressed up (even though I really did want to wear my new boots).

Okay, now I am going to make tea, and take pictures of all the new earrings I made.  Then I'm going try and catch up on all the TV I've missed in the last couple weeks. And eat potato chips for dinner. YAY!  Maybe I will even go to bed luxuriously early and get more than 6 hours sleep for the first time in what seems like forever.

Also, there is boy I never seen before, sitting on the porch, outside my kitchen window, playing guitar.  Only in Nashville.

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autumn love

It's 71°F in Nashville. Seriously, fall, if you want to continue to be like this, I'm all for it. Please tell your brother, winter, that we'd like him to be this mild and lovely as well.

I was flying in this morning and it was cloudy the whole way until we were just outside of Nashville. The late coloring trees looked spectacular from the air. Like lush, lovely, green Tennessee topped in a startling froth of red and orange. It took all I had to come into work today and not convince my friend who picked me up that we should run off and play in the park all day.

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