The Bay, The Bayou and a Trigger Happy Finger

I decided I really need to get myself back to exercising now that all those *%@#!&^ boxes are all gone. (Well, almost!) It was such a beautiful morning and I thought I would actually put on my sneakers (*GASP!*) and take a nice long walk. I walked over to the park on the bay. Didn't have my camera and saw a lot of pelicans. Started walking north along the bay towards Coffee Pot Bayou. Decided to go back to my apartment and pick up my camera and head back out. So, here is today's gallery. And, eventually, I'm going to start running along here, so probably will leave the camera home!

And....back home again!

Ho! Hum! The Beach and another Drawbridge

I met with one of the area managers yesterday with the credit union that I will soon be working for. Well, prividing I pass my drug screening, my background check and my credit check. Whew! A triple whammy! I stayed up all night studying, but I think I did OK. They gave me a list of all the labs that I could go to have the tests done. The only one in St Petersburg was actually down in South Pasadena on Gulfport Blvd. I figured, I'm almost to the beach, so why not? I was only there for about 10 minutes. The woman was mumbling most of the time and did not look happy. I was going to ask her if she liked her job. But after taking a second look, her there in her lab coat, surgical gloves and holding a big cup of my urine, I thought best not to.

I drove over to St Pete Beach, and then up thru Treasure Island to John's Pass. There is a little shopping area there with all kinds of touristy stuff. I bought some tank tops and tees and a pair of flip flops.....all half price and some at an additional 30% or 40% off! I also bought this 'lizard' to hang somewhere in my apartment. Maybe it will scare the cockroaches away? Kidding. (Hmmm?) The guy at the shop told me that these lizards are made from steel drums in Haiti. Seems that they had tons of these drums there from WWII, filled with petrol at the time. I always did like the steel drum music at Typhoon Lagoon. So, after the shopping I hit the deli there and had a 'California Wrap' I guess they call it California because of the black olives. I love that!

And then, heading from John's Pass back onto Treasure Island...guess what? Yep. Another little sailboat and a line of cars waiting in both directions. Luckily it was a short wait!

Anyhow, I then went to the beach and relaxed under my umbrella for a couple hours. This is so hard to take. But I know I'll be working soon enough, so I'm enjoying it now.

Watch This Space . . .

Coming soon! A place to sit and lay down and nap! Friday's the plan!

Dinner and what else? The Beach

Umm! Umm! Umm! Last night Danny made a delicious dinner for us (himself, Ron, Otto, and me). It was to die for. Coquille St Jacques, cheese biscuits, green and yellow beans, and Key Lime Cheesecake for dessert! I think I gained 20 pounds! I've got some left over biscuits and cheesecake in my fridge...but don't think they'll be lasting long!

I went to the beach this afternoon for a few hours. Another gorgeous day there. The water was a tad bit cooler today. Maybe from the storm that passed thru the Gulf recently. I saw a dolphin swim by when I was out in the water. At first I thought it was a shark! Saw that ole fin boppin' in and out of the water. Turned around and headed for the beach! When one of the swimmers who was out there on a surfboard came back in, I asked him if that was a shark. He told me it was the dolphin. I didn't think sharks swam in the arches like the dolphins. I guess sharks just circle!!!

On my way to the beach (12 miles from my apartment...clocked it the other day), I hit the drawbridge being up. Every so often that happens. Lines of cars waiting for one stupid boat to pass.

The guilty party.

A parting shot...

A Good Day with Lots of Wind and Surf

I went for my interview this morning. I thought it went very well. I interviewed with the branch manager and the head teller. Basically, they followed a script and asked me typical questions. I felt relaxed and answered them in a way that got them smiling. It lasted about 20 minutes. They thanked me and said that they had a few other candidated to interview and I should hear something by next Wednesday. When I got back to my apartment, I was going to get online and apply to some more jobs. But instead...I rummaged in the refrigerator and ate an early lunch.

I hung around the apartment for a while, then thought that if I was going to be working soon, I wouldn't have the free time I do now, so I might as well take advantage of it and enjoy it! So, off to the beach I go!

As I approached the beach, there seem to be more cars than usual for a weekday, even a Friday. As I parked my car and walked towards the beach, I realized why. Because there is a lot of storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico, it was quite windy and the surf was higher than I had ever seen it here. Usually there may be a surfer dude or two at the beach, but today it was mostly all surfers. I was going to put up my beach umbrella, but noticed there was only one up. I figured that the wind would probably rip it inside out, so I left it in it's pouch.

I splashed on tons of sun block, and sat and read more of Harry Potter. This one is definitely fast paced!!!

Just before I left, my cell phone rang. It was the human resources office from the credit union I had interviewed with this morning. They offered me the job! Woo Hoo! (I hope!) So, October 10 is my orientation. Now I really have to enjoy the time that's left before that!

I tried to take some "artsy" pics, (remember "Endless Summer"?) There was a film crew filming something, but I have no idea what. They had a shovel and kept digging a hole in the sand right at the water. They had this huge mirror, and some other piece of wood or something. But, anyhow...here's my gallery:

Agador Spartacus

I had an interview with Grow Financial FCU this morning. Only the second time in a month that I've had on long pants, socks and shoes! I felt like Agador Spartacus. I was envisioning myself walking into my interview, extending my hand to shake with the branch manager, tripping and falling flat on my face. I'd look up from the floor and say, "It's dees chooze! Dey make me fall down!"

Chiang Mai and Juleps

My friend Otto called me this afternoon to ask if I'd like to go out for Thai food for dinner. How could I say no to that? I love all types of foreign cuisines and only had Thai maybe a handful of times. I had spent most of the day doing little things around the apartment, including some laundry. I had a ham and cheddar cheese sandwich, a carrot and a hard boiled egg for my lunch, so Thai food sounded GREAT!


We went to the Grand Central District of St Petersburg to the Chiang Mai Thai Restaurant on Central Avenue. Otto is a great one to hang out with. He knows everyone! He goes there a lot, so the owners and staff all know him. Our hostess/waitress spent half the night chatting with us at our table. He even persuaded her to give me a gift of painted chopsticks!






Looking East up Central Avenue.

When we left, we took a walk up the block to look in the windows of some of the art and craft stores. Otto pointed to a woman across the street, standing in front of Savannah's Cafe talking with two others. She was dressed in a long dress with matching scarf around her neck. He said that she was Edyth, one of the owners of Savannah's. She noticed him and waved. We took a walk over to talk with her. Otto introduced me as a newbie to the area. She was so friendly and invited us in for a drink on her! I guess one of their specialties is juleps and soon 4 pomegranate juleps were served up after her son had joined us. We sat for a while and laughed alot. It was her birthday and she was celebrating by telling jokes! The restaurant was originally a car factory and showroom! It had been restored and updated...was beautiful inside.

It was a good night and I am full! Two new restaurants, two places to go again in the future!

What ye be plannin' ter sing today?

Talk Like a Pirate Day: The Five A's

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

Some New Friends

One of the fears about moving to a new place is not knowing anyone and feeling isolated and alone. I have been very fortunate. St. Pete seems to have a lot of friendly people, especially if they know that you've just moved here. It seems that they go out of the way to help you feel comfortable and at home.

I've been trying to balance the unpacking (long since done), cleaning and arranging, and job hunting, with some relaxation. The beaches are a pleasant and short drive from my apartment in Old NE. In less than 20 minutes I can be on Treasure Island. Within about 30 minutes, I have my chair and umbrella up and am spreading on the sun block!

A lot of people will say hello if you're sitting there alone. And just ask someone to take your picture and it opens up the conversation. And making one new friend seems to lead to making even more new friends.

I met Otto (in the red tank top) on the beach the other day. He was off today, so asked if I wanted to go to the beach and lunch today. I spent the morning online doing some more job hunting, and then joined Otto at the beach and we then went for a late lunch at Philthy Phil's on St Pete Beach. Later around dinner time I got a call from Otto saying that a couple of his friends had called to see if he wanted to meet for a drink. He wanted to know if I was interested in going along to meet his friends. I jumped at the chance! We met at Otto's place, a few minutes from where I live, and from there went out. I met Denny (black tank) and Ron (navy tank). They moved here last April from Michigan. Really nice guys. We had a nice time talking and laughing. Turns out, Danny was a chef and is cooking a dinner this Saturday night, and I got an invite! And those who know me know I LOVE to eat! [Update March 2011: I learned last night that Denny had passed away from cancer, just after Christmas 2010.]

Otto has a home in the "Historic Kenwood" section of St Pete. He showed me photos of his house when he bought it and I could see what it looks like today. It's amazing what he had done. I asked if it was ok if I took a few pictures of his garden. There is a bamboo planting that is at least 20 feet tall, some white giant bird of paradise plants like the one in my yard here. There are several bamboo water fountains around the garden. It's a beautiful patch of earth!















The bottom part of the bamboo planting.

View from the Living Room Window

I spent much of today putting away some little things that have been hanging around and washing the insides of the windows in the living room and kitchen. Too bad (well, not really) I can't wash the outsides. A thunderstorm went thru this morning around 10:30 or so, and it came down pretty hard. I figured as long as I had the blinds up, I'd take some pictures. Some of them may be hard to make out, with the glare on the screens, and the dirt on the outsides. But, anyway . . . my living room view. Can't see the Eiffel Tower, but this will do.

There's this flower that kind of looks like a bird of paradise, but it's white. This other shot may show it a little better.

There is this glass globe just below my center window.











On the right side there is this "trellis" that offers a view into the yard next door. There's a lot of palms so it's hard to see the pool.

And the Search Goes On

Yesterday was a productive day. I spent much of it hunched over my computer filling out online applications for employment with several banks and credit unions. Although I have an updated resume, it seems most employers want to gather the information in their own format. Now to wait . . . and apply to some more today.

I took a walk to the mail box which is two blocks south of my apartment to mail one application (filled out in Adobe pdf and printed). On the way I noticed a patch between the sidewalk and the street, filled with aloe plants! My first thought: Wow! Growing like that right outside! My second thought: Now I know where to go when I get a burn!

I decided to relax last night and flipped on the TV. One channel was playing Pirates of the Caribbean, The Curse of the Black Pearl. So, as I was eating my dinner, I got sucked into watching it. I have it on DVD so decided to watch it in widescreen with surround sound, so popped in the DVD and went to the scene that I had watched up to. After watching it for about 15 minutes, there was this loud sound as if a generator had shut down, and then tried to power up again, but then shut down with a lound grind again. Poof! Total darkness. I thought I had blacked out all of St. Petersburg! I heard thunder rumbling around but didn't see any lightning. Weird.

I found my candles and lit a bunch. Not much to do, so I opened Harry Potter, book 7 and continued with my reading. I felt like Abe Lincoln....only I don't think he read Harry Potter. In a little while I began to hear a lot of voices outside and then saw flashing lights and heard trucks. I went out the back door and up to the landing where my laundry room is and there were 4 or 5 big power company trucks with cherry pickers in the street.
I came back in and continued reading. After about three and a half hours, the power came back on. I figured, OK, time to shut the lights and go to bed.