not used to the 'norm'...

this whole one job thing.

on one hand? it's great!

on the other? it sucks. not just the lack of money. i miss seeing my other work friends. working with grown ups. serving people. having my boss teach me how to make a latte. the *right* way. feeling challenged. learning new beers. foods. everything.

so gail? i am really lost today. this is the first weekend since the fire that i have a 3 day weekend with no library work, and no blackbird. no meetings about fundraisers. no happy hours. and i'm a little lost.

so i cleaned the house. had lunch with mark at a fantastic cuban joint in mpls. we haven't really seen each other in a full week. his schedule has been all kinds of dysfunctional lately...

on the flip side, the year long planned trip with my other gail (bff of 30 years) to florida in may is booked! woot!

happy weekend, whatever may come your way...

melting time and mud...

minnesota is officially in the downslide of winter.

the back yard has lost about 6 inches or more of snowpack in the past week.

swamp season (where the yard is just one soupy disgusting mess) is upon us.

which means it's time to walk the dog again. just one. cora lived for walks. quinn really doesn't care one way or the other. he's happy to go on a walk, but cora *lived* for that. as it gets warmer, the folks who's houses we passed every morning will start asking where the other one is. :(

library construction is on track, and i hope to scoot in in the coming weeks to see the new digs. the last time i saw it was about 2 months ago. so much has happened in the interior since then...

aiming for a july 10 huge grand opening soiree...and may 22nd is the Book It! Library 5K. i hope all of my local folks can take part! it's family friendly and it gives the public a sneak peek of the new building if they take part :)

running season has started, which is good as i took to eating too many donuts and sweets over the winter and officially have some pants i can't fit into :( damn.

still bummed that i have no 2nd job, but at the same time, i'm rather enjoying the life of just one job, and one big time hobby that takes up much time in itself. if i can do without a 2nd job til blackbird reopens (i definitely want to go back..but it's way too early to see when that might be), then i'll have to scrimp even more in budget and just figure out how to get by. quite honestly? i don't want to start over at a new place. working only 1 or 2 shifts a week makes it very hard to fit into a small restaurant, so i'm hoping the bird reopens sooner than later. we'll see. they were well insured, but there's a ton of paperwork and procedures and decisions the owners have to make before i'll have any sense (or for that matter, they too) before we know what's what and when they'll be cooking for their fans again.

right now, i have many responsibilities to take care of winding up the final 2 months in our temporary library home, and ordering a bunch of shiny happy books for the new digs.

life moves on. just a bumpy road sometimes...

you never know...

when the 'last' of something might happen until it's over.

today was that day.

i last went to work at blackbird on tuesday night. it was a veeeeeery slow evening tending bar with laura and anathea. left around 8pm. took my spicy peanut noodles to go, and had a night at home watching more olympics coverage.

monday, the library was closed. i worked my first (and for now, last) lunch shift. the same shift that crossed over today's tragic events.

today at 2pm i went to lunch from libraryland with a friend. left my cell at work. (unknowingly).

came back 45 min later to find 2 people looking for me with urgent messages.

my blackbird cafe was on fire.

tonight? it's a total loss.

the staff, most of them, gathered at another local mpls restaurant to mourn. and memorize (yes, i made that up). and be together.

i'm not sure what my next gig will be while the owners consider and hopefully do rebuild, but right now the numbness and surreal fact that i will never walk into blackbird again like i knew it is going to take time to grieve.

no one was hurt. everyone's okay. and things can be rebuilt. but it's still sucky to know my friends are out of jobs (their ONLY jobs) and everything they put into their little amazing hole in the wall is gone.

for now.

hi david! and other news

my one faithful blog reader :)

well, maybe not, but he wondered aloud what was up.

yes, i've been absent. apparently running is all i seem to talk about when i want to write.

or dying dogs.

(ps i still miss her like mad. she was incredible. she *was* my dog. quinn is SO mark's dog. which is great for those two...)

anywho. none of those topics are timely right now...

quinn is healthy as a horse (well he's going to need a serious dental cleaning once that tax refund comes through...) and still loveable but still hates the floors without carpet (scaaaaary slippery!) and still has a head full of white noise i think. he *is* different without his sis around. which we try to compensate for by snuggling on the couch more. (um, can we say retired?) but we're staying at a 1 dog house for now...

running is in Super Taper. that could be the newest marvel member.

i am running. just not much in terms of mileage. which is okay. i did finally sign up for chicago's marathon. it's on october 10th.

for those at home, that date would be 10-10-10. like the 07-07-07 3 years ago when every engaged couple felt they should marry. (and also on that july date a set of rockin' friends gave up the 'what you should do' and went for their dream of being your own boss. their little venture took flight on 07-07-07 as well. so this year, 10-10-10 just seems to be the date i should do my one marathon. back in the sweet home chicago way. (oh, i can almost taste the chicago dog and cheese fries now...)

other than that, i've been snowshoeing around the area when i can, and last weekend learned to cross country ski for the very first time. not sure why it took 36 years to learn, but i loved it and now covet my own skis and want to find trails near and far in the woods to explore...

swimming. that's up next. lessons start at the end of march. (have to register but that's the plan). taking them with a friend at a local pool...and this past weekend, i worked out with 2 friends at different gym location and did an hour in the pool. the deep end. running. (i had a belt on that kept me afloat). but still. running?? in water where you can't touch for almost an hour? solid core/ab workout. i feel it today.

summer 2010 is looking big.

2 Ragnar relays (200 miles, 12 runners, 2 vans of 6, handing off the slap bracelet). one in the wasatch back mountains near salt lake city, and one on the mississippi river side of wisconsin that ends at boom island in mpls. Ragnar = an amazing 30 hours or so. it's crazy. it's tiring. and it's 1000% a blast. i wouldn't have any reason to lie. one of those 'it takes one to know one' situations...

oh, also? directing (with help from 2 other awesome librarians) my first 5K walk/run on may 22, 2010. if you're local, i'd name my first born after you if you took part...all of those who take part get to see the new library FIRST. and of course there's a free t-shirt. jerry says you do races for the free t-shirt. and to support your local library. and it's kids reading garden. follow this yellow brick road if you can actually be there that day.

opening the big huge awesome sparkling jewel of a library on july 10. soft opening a few weeks prior.

and hopefully traveling out to the canadian rockies with my beloved (it's that or a possible back up plan) for a 10 day road/camping trip. we have never had such an adventure, so i'm extremely excited about the possibilities and the pictures i've been finding online...

up next? almost imminently, i'm heading to the north shore in 5 days for 3 nights (with mark and 2 other awesome friends), and then coming home for 3 nights, before driving *back* up with david. i haven't been to the shoreland in 8 months. for me? that's EONS. it's time. and the woods & lake are just as phenomenal in winter as in summer. the bonus? a fraction of the people up there. BLISS i tell you. i'll share my wilderness, but the idiots who are disrespectful and loud with mother nature do nothing but irk me. so having a peaceful quiet but awesome setting to almost myself and my loved ones? it can't be the weekends soon enough!

thanks to ally & her tri-man and his beautiful red dog i still haven't met for taking care of our remaining critters...they make leaving town be okay. we love that trust.

david? you rock. have a fantastic day. and thank you for really 'getting it'. there are few that do the way you do...

happy end to the month. pictures to come in a few weeks...