starting 11/12, starting 11/19, starting 11/27

12/3
I did manual labor yesterday. I installed a ceiling fan. It only took about three hours which is a lot longer than the expected time. A lot longer. I'm not as handy as I used to be. And with the current disposition of the planets, I thought it was remarkable that it only took a half dozen trips to the breaker box to get the wiring straight. More or less.

I was working on some charts for the upcoming political thing, Monday on Hightower Radio's "Chat and Chew," and I came across a weird Gemini chart that looked a lot like one of my friends, but this chart was a lot older than him. I don't think he'll like it when I let him know that he's so much like Brigham Young, one of the founders of the Mormon faith. Although, he might like the idea of 17 wives. And yes, it's a Gemini chart.

I also finished reading a book I picked up in England, Crucifix Lane by Kate Mosse. It was interesting but the catharsis at the end left me a little under-whelmed which was too bad because the rest of the tale was quite good. It's a story about a quick bit of time travel, and unlike so much of the space opera pulp I've read in the past, it has a female protagonist, and as such, it's written from a strongly female point of view. It's full of emotions and there's an interesting note at the beginning as the protagonist is going on about how she hated the Science Fiction movies her boyfriend took her to because they were all about men. Perhaps it was a deliberate ploy by the author, but I still really liked he book. Strong, idealistic feminist speculative fiction.

The other article I read with great interest yesterday was from the New Yorker magazine, and the article was about following a punk band from Montana while on tour. I'm not a punk band, don't plan to be, but the sentiments about a life constantly on the road is one I'm more than familiar with, and I liked the imagery, the sense the author caught while traveling with the Sputniks.

12/4
I had a long and lingering dinner last night with a gentle Pisces client. In the background, the strains of the musical maestro, Do Walser {and his Pure Texas band}, came filtering through the dining room. There was gentle rain falling, and I got home, fired up a nice H. Upmann Robusto to cap the evening off. It takes a good cigar to come up with some of the strange links I find in order to enliven the pages. A little reggae music came through on the radio.

There's something about the early December weather, gentle rains, mild temperatures, sunny days and cool nights that just makes everything feel so alive. With the patio door open, it's as near as heaven as it gets.

The trees seems a little confused right now, though. I saw a beautiful oak down by the river, part of the leaves were fresh and green while others were turning a brilliant shade of ruby red -- highlighted against a gray sky with low clouds blowing up from the coast.

This weather is absolutely insane [even by Texas standards], but I'm loving it. I've managed five miles or more every day this week. Pretty good average. Even the animals are confused. The squirrels are as fat as my cat so I know that a real cold spell is around the corner, but sunny and near 80 degrees is wonderful weather. I've been shirtless and in sandals for the past week.

There was the cutest little water snake out in the lake today. He (she?) had bright red markings on his back, a diamond pattern so it wasn't a water moccasin. I lost sight of him as he got into the tree branches on the shore. He wasn't very big, only about 18 inches or so, but that's the second snake this week. It's a good average. And snake medicine is strong for me.

12/5
Off to the little New Age bookstore to do readings all afternoon. Even with the warm weather, I'm trying to do something different by wearing slacks and a pressed shirt. I figure my attire keeps them all guessing. I've got a ride with one blond hair, blue eyed Gemini over to the bookstore, and I've got another one picking me up. Life is good. Of course, the facts of the situations are a not what they appear to be -- it was one of Shakespeare's greatest lesson, "things just ain't what they seem to be..." But who cares?

According to the wildlife guides, the lake here is home to cormorants, Yellow [thing] Herons and the Big Herons. I know the big herons when I see them -- usual in pairs. It's the cormorant and other heron bird I'm having trouble with identifying. And the hawks.

Reminds me of the afternoon I saw a vulture circling over the freeway -- and the traffic was at a dead stop.

12/6
I like working at the little new age bookstore here in town. It's a friendly place, well-illuminated, located close to home, and certainly a southside type of establishment. I had many visitors yesterday, but not many readings. Doesn't mean that it was a slow day, by any means. Relaxed might be a better term. Breakfast at Maudie's with one favorite Gemini, dinner with another, life doesn't get much better than this.

The weather in Austin is really bizarre -- it's balmy and humid. I like the moisture in the air even though it renders my hair rather unmanageable. With the weather so deceptively nice, I get a chance to exercise around the lake again today. The fishing poles are still sitting in the corner, though, languishing unattended. With Mercury retrograde and the full moon over, I don't know what bait would work.

12/7
I have a foul sense of humor. Perhaps I get stuck listening to my clients too much. Perhaps it's the volume of e-mail I deal with on a daily basis. Perhaps it's because of my upbringing... but today was Pearl Harbor day, and no one seemed to notice. All I could think of was having sushi... well, I warned you about my humor.

The Jim Hightower show was interesting, but about the only fun I had was talking about what my friend Bubba Sean can do with duck tape. The lad is amazing. And you ought to see what he can do with duct tape.

12/8
I love this town -- I caught a ride with Sean over to the coffee house by the lake, we had a couple of cups of coffee and a cigar, I chased back to my side of town for a quick reading with one of the girls, and then we wandered off to the bookstore for a period of browsing.

Bruce Sterling has a new book out, and I broke my rule about not buying heavy reading material when Mercury is retrograde, and I picked up his latest publication. It's called Distractions and looks to be another good one. The real test is how late I stay up to read it. The amount of coffee consumed wouldn't be factor, I don't think.

12/9
"SDK-98" is the latest from Doug Sahm. As soon as Mercury is no longer retrograde, this looks like the album to have. It's got that one song I keep hearing on the radio -- "Get a life."

The cat is complaining bitterly about the outside temperature. She wants me to change the weather because it now feels like winter. I let her out on the patio, but she doesn't like this morning -- too cold even for her fur coat.

I listened to a client last night, tales of love from the front, so to speak. She then observed that I must have to listen to a lot of this. In fact, I do.

And then there was the person at the check out at the bookstore.

"I wonder what deity I should invoke to make sure the credit card goes through?" I wondered out loud.

"Gnesh," she answered without missing a beat.

Where else are you going to find a bookstore employee up on the latest of Old Eastern Deities?