one in the hand is worth two in the bush, bear!

So, we'll see how this blog thing works out...I'm hoping it will prove to be a good way of keeping in touch without the annoyance I feel when using email...

I'd like to paint a quick mental picture of my current environment: I'm sitting in the Great Room of the Ahwahnee (sp?) during tea time, while the pianist behind me keys out some non-descript mellow tunes and tourists walk through, stopping for some tea and cookies. A woman sat next to me a while ago and we chatted for a couple of minutes before she got up and went back to her family at the pool. Her cup of tea is abandoned on the other side of the table, and the dirtbag in me is thinking of finishing it before it gets to cold. haha...

In comparison, this summer has been quite different from last, but only in the details. The water is sparse this year, and rafting is about to close in the next couple of days. My boss, Sean, has declared Sunday the last day, maybe staying open Mon. and Tues. just for the extra 30K we can make on raft rentals, but no way are we dealing with fourth of July tourists bitching that they didn't come here to drag a boat down the river for three miles. Sweet. I'm glad we're on the same page, because if Memorial Day weekend is any indication of what the fourth is like, I could lose my job for telling off some idiot guest. Now that we won't be open, I can more easily work under Guestpath standards for another day, bleh. Complaints aside, working at the raft stand is a pretty sweet gig. It's super-chill, so much sometimes, that I feel like I'm slacking off when there's really just nothing to do--it's a lot of waiting for people. Cashiering sucks and I'll remember that in the future, do not apply for cashiering positions. Yesterday a family came and didn't realize they couldn't bring pets, so I got to dog-sit for the day until they came back from the river, and the father tipped me 20 bucks for the service, which was really just a treat for me since I've grown up always having a cat.

There was a week recently where 3 rock slides occured within 2 days of each other, one of them happened a few hundred yards from my housing area. No one was hurt, mom, it's all good! The foundation on one of the new housing buildings cracked and they closed off Curry boulders, but it's still possible to get in there and work on those problems. A few days after that, two earthquakes shook in Mammoth and we felt 'em down here in the valley. I kinda flipped out cuz I was in that funky state of consciousness between being awake and asleep when it happened, and jumped up to run from a rockslide, but my roomie said it was just an earthquake and go back to bed.

This past week has been full of birthdays, Ian (my roommate) included. Elyse threw a super-hero party for her birthday. It was such a blast, as costume parties usually are. Ian and one of the Kansas Wills dressed up as Ace and Gary, the Ambiguously Gay Duo from SNL. I almost died laughing so hard, they wouldn't break character either for anything--Ian was doing squats in line at the store and all the tourists had expressions of confusion and disgust on their faces, haha!

Anyhow, I'm sick of being plugged in, I think I'm going to go finish my book down by the river, maybe jump in, I need a shower. And food, food would be good too, I got a rumbly in my tumbly.
Please, feel free to respond with your latest and let me know how this form of communication is working out.

Oh, and I also learned recently that we need at least 13 hugs a day for health and clarity, use that beta as you will. Cheers!

*H