Observations of Work and California

I doubt if I even got 3 hours of sleep the night before my first day back at work, and that certainly didn't help any. Had I not had two weeks off I would have called it a horribly rotten day. The fact is, my attitude was kind of in a forgiving mood or something because I never got upset. Things were so messed up that I floundered around for a good hour or so in sort of an "evaluation" mode before I decided I didn't even know where to start. As the day wore on I found my groove and started in. By the time the day ended I had fixed a lot of problems, some of them potentially major. The good part was when Bernie handed me two paychecks.

Suzie and I chatted briefly before I went to bed last night, and she reminded me (or scolded me?) that I hadn't mentioned any of her family members that I had just met in California during the course of my blogging. She's right--Guilty as charged. The fact is, I never really thought much about it--I just assumed she would blog our interactions and stuff.

The first person I met when we showed up at her uncle's place was her sister, Kathy. "They're here! They're here!" I heard her squeal from behind the backyard fence as we got out of the car. Although they looked a lot alike in childhood pictures, she and Suz really didn't resemble each other much at all to me. Kathy is a tiny little thing with a Debra Winger sort of voice--It breaks a bit when she talks.

When I met her mom, I met a lady older than I thought I was meeting. I guess it's because I spent so much time helping Suzie scan old pictures this summer, many of which included her mom. I guess if I would have done the math in my mind I would have expected her mom to be the age she actually is. Does that make sense? I rarely have preconceptions expectations about how someone might be before I meet them, so I guess I never thought about it. The fact is, she is a super lady. I doubt if I have ever met such an even-tempered person in my life. During the course of events taking place in the house during the time I was there, a lot of frustration, anxiety, raising of voices, etc. took place. I never heard her mom raise her voice, get mad, or lose her cool. I very solid lady! As time went on during the week I stayed there, she seemed to enjoy my company more and more. She tended to ramble a lot, and apparently I was a good sounding board. Sometimes she talked incessantly for hours on end. I think she liked the company and really enjoyed having us there. I enjoyed it too. I had my doubts about staying on the couch in a strange house for a week, but it was almost like being home. We made jokes about being slobby, smelling up the bathroom, and all the other stuff that family members do. It was like I was family.

One thing that struck me as funny was one day while all three of them were in the same part of the house and one of them said something and all three of them laughed. They all had the same laugh! I loved it. It reminded me a little of the laugh that Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone would do on their cartoon. Very funny. That fact solidified them as related in my mind--No question. Ditto for another thing they all did the exact same: "Whatever." They all 3 have the same way of saying "whatever" that basically sounds the same. It's a combination of, "I'm finished talking and I've said all I'm going to say", and "You're going to do whatever you want anyway, so what the hell are you asking me for?"

I met Kathy's husband Pearce too, but really never got to know him all that well. We stayed at their house twice--Once the first day we were there, and once later in the week. The second time we stayed there I never even saw him. He seemed like a good guy and very hard working. The two of us spent a pretty hot day cutting up a bunch of branches in the front yard and had a good time. He's pretty businesslike and "gets with the program." Their son, Russell was one of the quietest kids I've ever seen, but when you think about it, how many kids actually like to talk to adults, let alone strangers? I don't know how old he is--Maybe 14? 15? He seemed to be a pretty bright kid though.

I think the weirdest thing there was when me, Suzie, Kathy and Pearce, all met Suzie and Kathy's real dad at a restaurant. It was arranged--Not accidental. I saw little resemblance between the girls and him. He was interesting in a strange sort of way. He was kind of quiet, with a dry sense of humor, and spoke very carefully. I think he was more nervous than anyone. The girls loved to pick his brain.

It was a very interesting doorway into the family that is Suzie. Although it's a typical American family nowadays, with multiple spouses and histories, I didn't see anything at all that rattled me. Not that I was expecting... Maybe a "whew" is in order?