I remember a trivia question from long ago, “Which state has the most Tornadoes?” . Most said Kansas some said Oklahoma. Texas is the state for having the greatest number of Tornadoes.  Passing thru Texas just outside of Fort Worth the rain and wind reminded me of that fact.  I was scared  while the winds  caused the truck to rock back and forth and when I looked out the window I saw the American flag just stopped high up on a pole and this ominous sign was a clear signal.  We pulled over I saw plenty of debri blowing all around. The lighting did nothing to squelch my fears, and I was ready for something  that never came.  Later and further down the road I shared with driver that my thoughts have been like the weather and I was not looking forward to facing my cat dilemma and the anger I’ve been holding on to.  The driver tells me “You gotta let that shit go” headed west I gonna keep singing  that Frozen song. 

$2.25 per cycle in the laundry room here in the ATL Petro in Atlanta Georgia. Spring  showers outside makes a nice go of things.   6 loads sure beats folding 280 moving pads. Driver asks 3 locals 100.00 bucks to fold. One of the guys says “each? ” driver tells him “F*** you”. I guess that how they talk to each other, so the two stay behind and get paid. You see sometimes you just don’t want to fold pads and since it doesn’t happen often paying seems reasonable.  Meanwhile I got to contend with “dirty old man truck driver” that is trying to engage me in conversation just so he can “go there”. No takers buddy!. I avert his eyes and pretend I don’t hear him when he asks me if they said “naked” on TV. I say “I hear the Pope is coming to Philadelphia” and that does the trick. He changes his way and I helped him fold his Kirkland T-shirts. And he says to use certain dryer because it’ll give you extra time.  Pays to ignore then be nice.  It also pays to look in between the machine because eighty five cent  gave me extra time to stay in my most favorite place..not really.  Zia Jian

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Back in the truck and everything is familiar

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Florida and the truck is parked in Orlando.  “100 gallons of fuel a day” I’m listening to the driver chatting with his uncle. We got lucky since family is here. I got to sleep in a normal bed had a  shower and watched TV.  It feels good to be back in the truck though, and it dawned on me that “the shift” (mental change outlook) is here in the most subtle ways. For example,  I now like sleeping in tight quarters.  I prefer it over spacious accommodations I view dirt and grime not as an enemy but a necessary evil. I observe more and ask less because the answer will come. And as much as I desire the beach and ocean spray I have learn to enjoy other things like the “Superior Live Stock Auction” 6k gets you 29 feeder steers. So cheers to “blonde bucks and good boogers” auction talk for healthiness.

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This is a case about how friends over time become family.  I had a timely situation where I had to work during day go to a home and repair all kinds of stuff and get out b4 the new tenants move in. Who ya gonna call “Ghostbusters”.  So we had move a newer type of washer and dryer, abandoned by the previous tenant, to an upstairs room. I called the driver and got the best of what it takes to “get her done” But no my bro had me doing opposite.  He had the best intention (machine gravity thing) things got a little heated and Venus said to Mars let’s do it this way and if it does not work we’ll try you way.  It worked out. At dinner I apologized for wigging out and Ruben said “your my sister don’t worry about it” How wonderful was that.  My bro has never let me down and the past 3 days  showed up with coffee a good attitude and tools to “get her done”.

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In a nutshell I miss this blog. I had to stay behind and fix mess. As I sit here in Long Beach Airport in California to fly out  meet driver in Florida.  I wanna cry because I had to take my cat to cat gangland.  I wish for reassuring words like “she’ll be fine”. I called several cat rescues and essentially told the same thing. No room at the inn. A cat sanctuary will take her to live out the rest of her life for 5k. She is about 17 years basically she just eats and shits. I took her  to my mom’s and just this  morning told my mom ” I just can’t bring myself to euthanize Mika”.  My mom almost  cried and said Kitty boy and Frank Sinatra will kill her. I chat up the secretary/friend “ya they’ll kill her” Mika stay hid behind the washer and dryer till I get back. No good deed goes unpunished.

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They say never write when you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. I am three out of four so I’ll eek by.  I am Hungry to get back out on the road. Angry that a one decision resulted in a home needing work I didn’t anticipate. Lonely is rarely a feeling because the Guy upstairs is my constant companion. Tired “Yes” any hard working person is, guess that is all of us.  As I drove my car up two little ramps onto the 18 wheeler, I was so nervous being it was a first time. Channeling “dukes of hazard”  maneuvers did not work. I forgot to pull the parking brake up and now  have some beauty marks on the face of the bumper to show for it. The driver said “you’ll learn” he is right. I was angry he blamed me “Dude I never did this before”. Even Brian the 3rd guy said he was reluctant to do it. “Have you driven a car up a ramp?”. “No”. Aha!.

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Last Wednesday I went to my first ever kickstart party.  I was excited because the creator of the shoe line was there and I would have the opportunity to tell Nik how proud I was.  The facade was a 4 chair barber shop with the rotating barber pole on the outside in Los Angeles “Where is the party? .  A secret door led into a dark pub like atmosphere,  house music playing and super young crowd. Nik had the beautiful display of a footwear on a candle lit table.  I picked one up and smelled the new leather all which came From and made in  Portugal.  I hugged Nik and I immediately got a warm energy boost. “My whole life savings went into this” Nik says   You have to go out on a limb to get to the fruit.  I have a wristband which gets me a Bacardi sponsored rum drink and I order a 12.00 dollar sandwich. I’m definitely in Los Angeles Westside for sure.  I break bread with Phoebe and Moe and shared the take out they had.  A Filipino and and Idonesian and we talked food, poker and traveling and I loved the giggling “What’s up with the 13 letter names?” And teased both of them when I asked “how long have you guys been together”  they just met that night.  I knew the grilled cheese with bacon was going to be rich and it  was also delicious so I glad we shared it  The LGBT crowd is the target for these beautifully made shoes but they are for just about anyone.  I love the fresh faces complexions free of lines and beautiful heads of hair with good smelling product in it.  Everyone I met like Beck and her GF dressed stylishly and everybody gave good hand shakes. And I appreciated that there are plenty of people who take effort to dress nicely with crisp clean lines and accessories that complement rather than detract.  Nik’s girlfriend Amy seemed  tired but she was there to support Nik and that spoke volumes.  Nik you are an entrepreneur extraordinaire and have the best attitude to be successful. You are a good pet guardian too. I got my LA cache.



Humans are creatures that require socialization or else we die.  Or die earlier. In the states there is plenty opportunity to do this and I’ve chosen the meet up.  It’s “Meet people in your community to share interest” I’ve done a hiking, live music and now poker meet up.  Friday night I pull up to a house in a middle class neighborhood and my mom and I are first to arrive.  We walk to a back house 2 story and we are greeted and upon  entering I immediately see a pet rabbit and the tall guy who is running this poker group introduces us to his family.  A 15 y.o and and a baby boy both darling. It’s a full house and I’m shocked because I find out you can rent a closet size room with 2 people for 700.00 bucks.  Slowly people trickle in and it’s a Vietnamese American youngster who has yet to play Omaha,  a tall dude who doesn’t like the game because the rules just don’t make sense.  40 bucks  buy in and let the games begin. For the record it’s not a good idea to bad mouth other poker meet ups but this was an exception. Apparently there  is a gal out there who is not only crazy but uses participants to move large pieces of furniture and expects them not to scratch a thing or there is hell to pay in the form of harassing texts.  The youngster ironically said he knows her and was “scarred for life” ” I haven’t gone to a poker meet up for over a year because of her”. My mom even knew her because she has shown up at other poker groups “Is she a Redhead?”  Unasimously heads nod in agreement.  An attractive gal showed up and a potential suitor of hers who was carrying Flemish beer and  a E-cig. He is encouraged by a table full of people to “Do The Dragon” with a reluctant look he inhales deeply gets close to the poker table and an ungodly amount of rolling billowing smoky water vapor rolls out of his two facial orifices and I screamed in delight.  It looked like a scene from Lords of the Rings. I got chills too.  Lastly there was a newly fiancée couple and one of them who said to say her name is Rainbow Brite. I asked the group if I could blog about that night and I give a shout out.  Rainbow Brite was just that.  She was fun and funny and said both her and her fiancé were foodies and travel to eat “Washington, San Francisco” prefix menus are indeed the way to go.  I loved their generosity, she gave my mom and the student a filet-o-fish sandwich and me a water. Josie was serious about her life and playful in poker.  We played easily to three am and of course the newbie student won some big pots and was the main money winner I was second I think.  I wrote on the comment feedback regarding the event “entertaining, legit and seasoned poker players”.