This morning was a ‘normal’ morning in that I woke at seven, not three. Today is the weekend and on weekends special treats are prepared for breakfast. Yesterday the treat was pancakes, today the treat is bacon. I can tell because I can smell it even up here. It smells better than it tastes, in my humble opinion. Then I check my email inbox, find nothing but accidentally send an email back to someone. Well it wasn’t very nice, perhaps he should read it again. But it was totally accidental, Goodness knows how many hours I slept, perhaps nine or ten. I feel fine – the room is cool. I read the blog, feeling proud of its candour and openness., describing emotions without revealing the source. No one is named; not those bringing pain nor the ones bringing joy. Both exist and will again. The four year old left for another hotel so will not greet me this morning, the other is long gone.
An email from faithful Tracey beams in with frustrating news, not bad, just frustrating. I there on some clothes and went down for breakfast – there was, of course, bacon. I happily spoke to a woman in line for the bacon and eggs and pancakes.
Me: I just love the smell of bacon and here it is!
She: (grouchily) I don’t eat meat so I don’t know.
Me: I was just talking about the smell, not the eating of it.
This woman was not a happy camper (silly expression that). She was definitely a glass half empty person, not a glass half full person.
Candour was a word used: frankness, openness, honesty, candidness, truthfulness, sincerity, forthrightness, directness, lack of restraint, straightforwardness, plain-spokenness, plain dealing, plainness, calling a spade a spade, unreservedness, bluffness, bluntness, outspokenness; informal telling it like it is. ANTONYMS guardedness, evasiveness, insincerity.
So that is my blog and that is me. I am forthright straightforward and outspoken. I call a spade a spade and tell it like it is. There is nothing guarded or evasive about Alexis Janice McBride. I was not always like this, but I am now. Jokingly I tell folks that it is easy for me for several reasons:
1 I do not have children.
2 I do not have a husband.
3 I get my retirement check for just living and will get it until I die. I do not have an employer to please.
4 I have the ability to get over people and to move on. Therefore I do not fear rejection.
5 I make friends easily and therefore do not fear abandonment or loneliness.
There is a phrase that comes to mind. I am uniquely situated. I know of no one else in my situation or predicament – depending on how you look at it. Predicament, what is that?
Predicament: awkward situation, mess, difficulty, problematic situation, issue, plight, quandary, trouble, muddle, mare’s nest, crisis; informal hole, fix, jam, sticky situation, pickle, scrape, bind, tight spot/corner, spot, corner, dilemma, hot/deep water, kettle of fish, how-do-you-do.
The day continued in style. A woman in the hotel lobby was dressed in carnival regalia, she was a stunning sight. I grabbed my phone and rushed out to take her picture to post on Instagram. Somehow the photographer made a video of me laughing my rear end off. Suddenly a car sped by going about one hundred miles an hour, I involuntarily gave the driver the finger. The video was duly posted with the following caption:
Me: An accidental video on the streets of San Francisco. A car sped by and I involuntarily gave it the finger. Oh my Gawd said they: Did you just give the San Francisco police the finger? I guess I did.
Well thank goodness the guy was on a mission and did not stop to arrest me. Four of us laughed and laughed and the following conversation ensured:
They: You made my day!
Me: You made my day! One day eight people said that I made their day. That was my biggest count.
They: Well already you have two and its only nine in the morning.
But my count did not significantly increase as I spent most of the rest of the day in my hotel room (alone, let the record reflect). Later it was off to the Fig and Thistle, my first visit there.
Very good vibes, interesting people, an efficient and high energy partnership between the two bartenders. Definitely a place to return for more meeting and greeting and handing out blog cards. An interesting woman at the bar from London and in the wine business. We talked about her providing the wine for the nuptials at Dolphin Square. I am back wedding planning, what fun. Flower Girl’s wife texted:
She: Flower girl and Hankie with Vows want to be in all three weddings.
Me: You slay me!!! I will go and look for the vows and send them to you,
She: (later) I have read them that is going to require big hankies for the long vows.
There is liable to be crying at the wedding so that is why she has the job of handing out hankies. It was her idea to have the vows printed on the hankies. I was thinking we should have cheap ink and then the teary people would be covered in black ink. Flower Girl’s Wife and I have great fun all of the time but particularly when planning weddings. The groom changes but there always seems to be one waiting in the wings or warming up in the bull pen. The huge hankies will require a person of great means. Hmmmmm!
The photograph is the exquisitely dressed carnival woman and me on the Streets of San Francisco.
