My Vote in November

Thanks to Y-O-Y for this post. I couldn't resist.

A Night at the Opera

I went to see the St. Petersburg Opera Company's production of Don Giovanni tonight at the Palladium Theater which is within walking distance of my apartment. But . . . I didn't want to arrive all sweaty, so I drove. Call me a Floridian now.

I remember Miss Wormley, the head of the Math Department and my advance placement math teacher, told us once that when we went off to college, we would find ourselves playing Bridge and listening to good opera. Well, it wasn't until after college that I learned barely to play Bridge and didn't attend my first opera until Tuesday night.

I was expecting a small crowd, being a Tuesday and all, but was surprised to see the theater just about full. It seats around 880, I think I read somewhere and I'll bet there were 700 people there.

I enjoyed it a lot for my first time. The libretto was projected above the stage and the costumes were modern day. The orchestra was seated towards the back of the stage behind a scrim. The set consisted of columns across the stage with a cornice above them, onto which the libretto was projected in English. It was funny the way modern English and slang was thrown in! They even threw in "i-Phone".

All in all, it was a nice cultural evening out. I plan on attending other performances and concerts held there.

Father's Day Weekend

On Saturday and Sunday there was a Caribbean Festival in Vinoy Park. These shots are from Saturday evening. Only spent about 20 minutes there. Not well attented, maybe because of the economy? There were a slew of bands playing on a schedule.

I would have loved to hear these steel drums being played. Not sure when this was on the schedule.

On Father's Day Wayne suggested we go to Anna Maria Island to check out the beaches there. It was my first trip over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The bridge is being painted, so it has this golden yellow color for now, I guess.

I also got to talk to all four of my children . . . that was the icing on the cake!

The old bridge was hit by a ship in 1980. See some pics and a brief history here. This is the South Pier, once the approach to the old bridge from the south.

This is one of the walkways to Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island, west of Brandenton. It's a nice relaxing beach with beautiful white sand and azure water.

Disco Inspiration

Thanks, Y-O-Y, you have inspired me to post a video. I've always liked this one . . .

The Dating Game

Yesterday morning at work, right after we opened, I called a woman over to my station. As she approached, all smiles, I remembered her from a short while back, and my inner thoughts we somewhere along the lines of "Uh oh".

Since it was one of the days when we weren't required to wear the official "dress code uniform" polo shirt, I was wearing a dress shirt and tie. When she got over to my station, she proceeded to tell me how handsome I looked. She told me several times. Then she then asked if I was dating anyone. I replied, "I'll never tell!" She smiled and said that she guessed by my answer that she and I would not be dating.

For the record, although I was flattered, she is married and definitely NOT my type.

Sunshine and Water

The weather has been pretty hot and humid lately. But, I see it's been the same up there in Albany and the Northeast too.

This sky picture was taken Friday night. We were on our way to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and lightning starting flashing off in the distance. The color here was so cool; kind of like an eye thru the storm.

On Saturday we went swimming in Wayne's pool. The water was refreshing, but that sun was awfully hot.

On Sunday we went to Sunset Beach. It was a beautiful day, with a nice breeze coming in off the gulf. Actually a strong enough "breeze" to blow the umbrellas out of the sand and inside out!

Billy and Gary.

Sully and John.

The sky started to get a really dark blue in the east and we figured it was about time to head out. Just as we were crossing the last bridge on the Treasure Island Causeway, it started coming down in sheets. After traveling a short way east on Central Avenue, I figured we should pull into a parking lot and wait till the visibility increased to more than 3 feet! The wind was whipping some of the signs around in the parking lot so much that it looked like they would rip out of the ground.

It seemed to slow down so we headed back out onto Central, only to have to pull off again a couple of blocks later. This time it started to hail. After a short wait, it started to slow and we headed back out. Only now we had to take it really slow thru some flooded intersections.

I wish I could have gotten a more clear shot of this mother and her two daughters. It was one of those Kodak moments, but I only had a Canon.

Welcome June!

It's hard to believe that May is gone and June is here! I've been putting off turning on my air conditioning, hoping to make it thru May without it. I decided today to flip the switch! I never thought I'd be dreading summer!!!

For the first time I went swimming in that pool that Wayne has been keeping nice and clean. Was a beautiful day and the water was refreshing!

There is a Pinellas food festival in Vinoy Park this weekend and was thinking of hitting it sometime, but decided it was too hot. Am I sick or what? There's still time . . .

Went to a backyard party on Friday night. Sort of a covert celebration of a birthday. Was a beautiful night. Plenty of finger foods and delicious amoretti cookies among the goodies.

Memorial Day 2008

Went for a walk this morning, down to the Bay and the beach there. Lots of people out there celebrating on a beautiful Memorial Day. Cookouts, volleyball games, windsurfing, kite flying.

I was thinking of blending into the crowd so that I could get some of the great smelling grilled food!

Someone had set this up. American flags with state flags lined on both sides. There are little soldiers and tanks, and in the background in front of the flags is a model of the World Trade Center.

This dog sure was having a good time!

Caught this scene on Coffee Pot Boulevard.

This is what happens when the palms shed their fronds. I'd hate to be parked under one of them. I always check the palms in front of my apartment before I park.

ELEANOR RIGBY

I decided to spend some time at the beach this afternoon. I went "minimally", meaning, only with a towel, a bottle of water and some sun screen. Of course, I forgot my hat. The sun was playing hide and seek behind clouds the entire time I was there, which was only for a little over an hour.

Since this is a holiday weekend, the beach was the most crowded I had seen it. It actually took me a little while to find a parking space, which I did on a side street several blocks up from where I normally park.

I went for a walk along the water after I first got there. The water was nice and warm, and the waves were pretty decent too.

As I was laying there on my towel, I was thinking about this holiday weekend. A lot of thoughts ran thru my brain as I lay there. Being Memorial Day Weekend, I was thinking about my family. My sister and brother celebrate their birthday (they're twins) on this weekend. The family always gathered for a cookout at my sister's house; a family tradition. And just being back from visiting Gina yesterday, I was thinking a lot about my children and how we're all scattered now. And add to the mix, the fact that Wayne is out of town and we always have been doing things together on the weekend, so I have a lot of solo time to think.

I was thinking about loneliness. Loneliness can sometimes hit us for a moment, or sometimes it hangs around for a longer period of time. We can be in the middle of a huge crowd, yet still feel alone. Waking up alone. Going to sleep alone. We can be very happy for the most part, but loneliness can creep in suddenly when we're not looking for it. And when family and friends are not close, it can be downright depressing at times.

But, I'm not meaning for this to be a downer post. Although I feel alone at times, life is good. I did get to talk with some friends on the phone today, and met up with some friends tonight to hang out for a short while. And at the risk of sounding pathetic, I even stopped at Publix on my way up to Clearwater to check on Tommy (Wayne's cat) and bought myself some baked beans, cole slaw and potato salad and had me my own little Memorial Day "cookout" (only without the cooked part!) I am meeting Otto for lunch tomorrow, so it should be a fun day. At least work is on vacation for a day.

On my way back to my car, I spotted this in the sand. Someone had made a heart and filled the lines in with rose petals.

I also spotted this. What do you think? Is it a coconut or did someone loose their hairpiece?