celebrate!

I was in a parade y'all!

Terri woke me up with a text message this morning asking if I wanted to be on the Lone Pine Restaurant's float. I got up, got dressed, and went upstairs to tell her no. Somehow, though, when I saw all the candy and craziness, my "no" turned into a "yes."



...and when I say craziness, I mean absolute madness.




Munds Park is a tiny town ... teeny-tiny ... the closest grocery store is more than twenty miles away ... yet, somehow, we manage to host the largest 4th of July parade in northern Arizona every year. The roads were jammed with golf carts and ATVs covered in streamers, old cars decked out in festive balloons, and trucks full of people wearing red, white, and blue. I think the whole friggin' town was either in the parade or on the sidelines watching it ... and the spectators were dressed up as much as the people they were watching.




Strangers pointed and yelled, "Hey! It's my waitress!"

I pointed and yelled, "Hey! There's a painted dog! It's red and blue!"

There was music and sun and lots of sugar and laughter.

It wasn't easy to take very many pictures when I was riding on the float and throwing candy at to kids, but I think this small sampling gives you the gist of things.




Now I have to shower and start getting ready for work. Tonight, I'm planning to wear a holiday shirt from Target and my favorite People's Liberation jeans--because displaying stars on my butt is so perfectly festive ... don't you think?

I'll have to wait until tomorrow to drive into Flagstaff and cruise Art in the Park.

There's no time left today.

medio de la selva

Yesterday was rough.

I woke up early, threw a load of laundry into the washing machine, and spent the morning studying. Then I took one of my finals, printed out my time-sheet, and drove into Flagstaff to go to work. I ran a few errands on the way, put in my time on the moon, and drove straight back to Munds Park to go to work again. 4th of July madness hit the restaurant in full-force yesterday. Thursdays are usually two-server days. There were three of us on duty last night and it wasn't enough. We were turning people away. We blew the fuses and lost all our lights so many times that we finally had to turn off the air conditioning in order to stay open. It was stifling hot and people just kept coming. We ran out of mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, goulash, ice cream, stroganoff, pizza dough, gravy, Italian dressing, and something else. I can't remember it all anymore. The tips were good ... but how good is good on a night like that? I'm not sure it was worth it. By the time we cheerily waved good-bye to our last customers, I could hardly stand up. Everything hurt and I was slimy with sweat.

Lovely, huh?

...and we still had to clean up!

I got home late, showered, and tried to sleep, but I was too wound up.

Now I have a headache and a long to-do list.

I'm not looking forward to going back to the restaurant tonight.

no time

I have no time.

No time for anything. Barely time to breathe. I ate my lunch at 10:30 last night. Real healthy, I know. At least I had time for breakfast though! I can't wait for this week to end. Everything is piling up. Laundry, life, messes. Ugh!

too much

Leslie sent me this picture today.

Charlie's a juggler.

I feel like a juggler too. But not with balls. I'm working both jobs every day this week and trying to squeeze in enough time to prepare for and take my finals. I'm looking forward to the weekend--not because I'll have time off (heaven forbid I ever get a full day off!), but because I'll only have to worry about one job for a couple of days. Shoot. If I don't sleep in, I might even be able to see a movie or wander through Art in the Park.

Yippee.

I forgot to turn on my phone after work last night ... which means I didn't have an alarm this morning ... which means I slept in ... which means my whole schedule was off today. I had all kinds of plans. Most of them have been put off until tomorrow.

Great, huh?

I wanted to write more, but I'm too tired.

The restaurant's been busy. The tips are good, but it hasn't been easy.

Ugh!

I can't wait to get through this week.

silliness and a better day

Grumble, grumble, boo-hoo!
Today turned out better than I expected it to.

Ha ha. That rhymes.

I'm a poet!
Didn't you know it?

Whateva'!

I was absolutely swamped at the restaurant. At one point, when I was still on my own, all but two tables were full. I don't know how I got through it, but the fake-smiling and forced cheerfulness rubbed off on me after a while and, almost before I knew it, I was feeling better than I've felt in days. I forgot about my sore throat. I joked with my customers. I never stopped moving, but I did pretty well on tips.

So, blah, blah, blah, I need to stop whining.

And I got 100% on the quiz.

Yippee!!

eleanor rigby, dear prudence, fool on the hill

It's a gorgeous day outside and I don't care.

I feel like crap.

The dog is barking upstairs and I don't care.

I have to leave for work in an hour. I wish I could say I didn't care. I like working at the restaurant, really I do, but I'm this close (imagine my fingers pinched together) to quitting. The money is great, but I'm absolutely exhausted. Even after calling out sick on Friday, I'm still working more than fifty hours this week ... and trying to keep up with my classes ... it's too much. I want to go to Phoenix. I want to play with Dozer. I want to sleep in a room with windows and ride in a car with air conditioning. I want to go to the movies. I want to see my friends again. I want to lay out on the deck and tan. I want to play in my garden.

I want free time again!

I feel like my whole body is wearing down.

I drove into Flagstaff today. The weather is perfect and the Beatles were on the radio and I knew the combination would normally make me smile, but I couldn't even fake it. I've got a sore throat and I'm tired from the inside out. I was already in town when I remembered that I have quiz due today--so I turned around and rushed back to do it before work. So much for a morning of nothing.

I really, really, really need a break.

morning tide ... sunday, sunday

I love these flowers. I take pictures of them almost every day. The colors are so vibrant in real life ... bright yellow, stark red, every flower is different ... but I just can't capture them with my cameras ... and I keep trying and trying.

---

I worked at the restaurant last night. I still wasn't feeling great and my energy levels were ridiculously low, but it wasn't a bad night. Business was steady enough to make the time pass quickly. My co-workers were friendly. The kitchen guys kept up with our orders (no 40-minute waits this week!). The dishwasher (we actually had a dishwasher!) kept us stocked with ice.

The customers were mostly friendly and my tips were mostly good.

I'm not sure ... I can't remember her name ... but I think I waited on a newscaster from Phoenix last night. She and her husband came in two minutes before closing time, apologized for keeping us late, ordered huge meals, and stayed for almost an hour. They got their food quickly and I kept their drinks full. I was hoping they would pay with a credit card so I could look at the name. They paid with cash. And they left a ten percent tip.

Grrreat!

Only my table of Europeans left less--and that was probably because I brought them soup when they asked for soap.

Ha ha. Whatever.

I know. I know. I'm not very funny.

Sorry.

I'm working again today.