The Zen of Sunrise

 Many may already know, but I started a new job on June 23.  I work at the same building, but now work directly for our Corporation.  Much of what I do is similar to my last duties at the TV station, except I am doing one task for multiple stations, instead of doing multiple tasks for one station.  Trust me, this is a joy.

More importantly, my hours are now 7 am-3 pm.  This is a dramatic change for me.  It has been YEARS since I worked a job where I could see sunrise or even sunset.  When you are trapped in an audio booth during evening news, you can't really take a break to watch the Sun set.  And when you work until 1 am daily, seeing the sunrise isn't much of an option either.  Most of my pictures of outside looked like this:

Super Moon

Or consisted of watching fireworks for events I could not attend, but could look out the door and see 2 seconds of ka-BOOM, before I went back into a windowless room.

Watching fireworks at the baseball grounds

Or even sadder yet...watching the sunset through a TV monitor:

My world is so very different.  

The first sunrise in years

I feel like a vampire, that was suddenly granted the gift of sunlight.  The unbelievable joy of seeing the sky 'pink' up as I drive, the sky changing from dark purple to violet to dark blue.  Watching wisps of clouds start to glow.  The quiet sound of birds chirping.  I honestly had forgotten how beautiful the world is early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

There's a happiness in being able to attend after work events with friends and family and not have to take a day off.  Being able to say yes to dinner out or drinks with friends.  The simple joy of dinner at home, with my husband, even if it is just spaghetti in front of the TV.  

A Glorious Sunset while out at the Beach AFTER work

There are a handful of people who have not expressed any congratulations to me about moving up.  There are a handful of people who resent my moving as a personal insult to them.  Like I made the decision primarily to create problems for them.  

It's frankly very sad. 

For these are people who have been experiencing the joys I have felt over the past month, for years.  These are people who I guess no longer find the beauty in small things.  People who don't understand we are all on this planet together and only by each of us finding our own joy can we make this world a better place.  It's not how many friends you have or how many groups you belong; it is what you do with your time on this planet that matters.  It is being happy for someone else who has been greatly unhappy and under appreciated to finally find happiness.  I'm sorry that group of people is so unhappy that they feel they need to criticize someone else's joy or ignore it.  

It's seeing the beauty in those sunrises and sunsets that reminds me to be caring, share other's joy, console their tears, offer a helping hand that makes life worth living.

The "Fingers of God" stretch out from the sunrise

Randomness on a Monday afternoon.

I raise my hand and admit it....I have not been posting about next door lately.  No excuse, just lazy...or working a lot.

Rumson has caught me on several occasions lately.  Most recently he started telling me all about the new program that Crazy Woman is currently on.  If you have a mentally unstable person, be aware the state of Florida is offering home service to treat the cray-cray.  Seems some poor soul comes to the house and shoots her up with drugs once a month.  That's probably why I haven't seen her talking to trees or circling around the cars lately.

What he did tell me however is that DCF was ready to pull his mother (Dead Mama) from the house, because Crazy Woman was physically abusing her.  I'm starting to get a bit of sympathy for Dead Mama.  So tragic her children and extended family.  Rumson tells me that if she had been removed, due to the reverse mortgage, they would have lost the house.  

Is it OK to be both relieved that someone is getting help and not abusing an old woman and likewise sad that a year ago they were not booted out of the house?

I'm having the cat issue again.  Sir MG kitty, who holds court in the cul-de-sac, is once again (in warm weather) wandering over to visit them.  Today it took me a while to track him down for breakfast.  He was next door.  When I call and he hears me, he comes running.  Some unknown male next door...its always a revolving door of people there....yells, "Is that your cat?  I thought it was mine."  I was flabbergasted.   It has been over 2 years since I started feeding him.  I told Rumson and my other next door neighbors that he is ours and we are taking care of him.  Why the hell would someone LIVING IN THE SAME HOUSE not know who the cat belongs too???  I said back, "been mine for over 2 years"  then added, "he likes to visit everyone".

I pay about 40 bucks a month in medicine for the creature, I hope he doesn't just disappear some day because the unknown guy decides to take him someplace else.  Seriously.  I have fought with these people until my hair is gray...over property lines, trash, boundaries and now the cat.  I am hoping that Zillow is right and the house is in 'pre-forclosure'.

Yard man told me a few weeks ago, when he was asking if he could cut down some dead trees in my yard, that they have a broken heater...hence all the fire wood.  No heater/no A/C.  And Rumson is supposed to be an HVAC repairman?  jeesh.  I shudder to think what it must be like in the summer.  Oh and the washer and or dryer must be broke too....laundry is flying on the wind...trust me, underwear day is not the day to be look out my window.  Of course they do not string it up in their back yard, where it's out of view...no, it waves in the breeze right out my front window and the first thing you see when you drive down the street.  Hello Granny Pannys, nice tidy whiteys y'all.

Just blowing in the wind

Recently one of Ed's co-workers came to the house and commented on the wooded patch in our front yard.  I think "trim the bushes" was the comment.  They don't understand that this is blocking a lot of the view of next door from our house.  I'm trying to make a green fence in our front yard.  It's a slow procedure.  We get new neighbors, I am cleaning out the beds.

My Green Screen