He asked himself.
He was too skeptical about himself and about others not to be conscious of the state of his soul.
-Stendhal
THE RED AND THE BLACK
The Beginnings – Part 68: ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Tuesday, August 9, 1983
After my On-Strike picket duty for Pacific Telephone today I received a ride home by Nici Maurino. She felt free to lie out by the swimming pool with me. She left not long after our time by the pool though.
It is my second day of being On-Strike and I felt like it was a mini-vacation. I chose to cruise over to visit Helen Wong, her sister Geneva and her boyfriend, Derek. I ate dinner with them. I revealed the proof of my wounded knees from when I fell near the railroad tracks. They can’t deny that I fell off of my bike after seeing my poor knees.
By 11PM I was home, eating Hagen-Daz Coffee Ice-Cream. When I stopped for the ice-cream I also bought some bathroom supplies (including lotion).
I was watching The Tonight Show when I received some surprise visitors at about 12:25PM. It was gay roller skating night, so George was in San Leandro with two of his friends (Dan and Ken). They came over. George ended up spending the night. We were laughing and joking around a lot before bed time.
We are planning to go to Chabot College tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 10, 1983
Instead of going to Chabot College we ended up going to Alameda. We left my apartment at 9AM as I wanted George to see the Townhouse. He liked it very much. Will he really move-in with me?
We took BART from the Fruitvale Station to the City and went browsing at Neiman-Marcus. I bought a sweater and got a free gift (hot and spicy peanuts).
After the shopping we went to eat at MACY’s ‘Mama’s’. I bought some new shoes while at MACY’s, too.
We also dropped over to SAKS FIFTH AVENUE. We were still talking about how delicious the blueberry cheesecake was that we shared at ‘Mama’s’. It was exquisite.
We went for a drink at the EQUINOX at the Hyatt-Regency. It was a great random day in The City.
When we returned to my car at the Fruitvale BART Station I drove George home. It was ridiculous to do that during the hectic commuting hours. It was a disaster. Luckily, we had good ‘QUAKE Live 105’ music which make the drive more enjoyable. I will never do that drive during that time frame again. I ended up driving to mom and dad’s house and spent the night there. I wanted to be in Alameda in the morning to continue with getting the Townhouse cleaned-up.
Thursday, August 11, 1983
Today I took off all of the paneling in the living room of the Townhouse. It made the room appear too dark. I also removed the black iron divider. It was quite a job but I accomplished a lot. I began to remove all of the ugly wallpaper too. I will have to finish that project later.
I telephoned George to give him an update on all that I had done today. He seemed pleased about my accomplishments.
The Pacific Telephone Strike is still ‘on’. However, I may start work in San Francisco on Monday. I need the money for my brass bed. No one in my office knows me there so it should be okay. It’s nice to have that option.
Only time will tell how long everything will take. This month of August seems to be flying by so quickly.
Friday, August 12, 1983
I telephoned Barbara Reynolds and shared the latest news. She invited me to Robert’s tenants’ Birthday/Housewarming Party.
I took off the rest of the wallpaper that I wanted removed from the first floor of the Townhouse. I didn’t even want to attempt the effort upstairs. It looks so much better now.
I picked up my paycheck in Downtown Oakland from Pacific Telephone.
I telephoned Ida and received a return phone call from Deborah Smith. Deborah gave me the address I needed to report to work in San Francisco on Monday, August 15th (strike or no-strike). I intend to work all of the overtime I can get.
I didn’t bother to call George tonight. I won’t phone him for a while. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. It turns hour he called me in Alameda (at my mom and dad’s house). I was flattered to know that he thought of me enough to call. Who knew that he thinks of me so much?
Next week I may be working from 7AM until 7PM. I certainly do not intend on making an extended drive down to Sunnyvale to see George. It would be exhausting. Surprisingly, I placed my telephone transfer order from the apartment in San Leandro to Alameda. The phone company may be On-Strike but there are people working. My new service in Alameda begins on August 19th and my new telephone number will be 523-1023. What a great number!
We must remind ourselves to relax…to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
BEING PEACE
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