Yup...

Nashville to OK City to Albuquerque by way of Texas...

I left Nashville (above) early Wednesday morning and set out on a LONG drive through three southern states. Here is Memphis TN as I rolled into Arkansas and crossed the Mississippi River.



Other than Little Rock, which I could not score a picture of because it was behind me on the freeway, this is what Arkansas looked like....

Finally made it into Oklahoma after many a fields...

Oklahoma is very flat and very boring. It was raining pretty hard for most of my drive through so pictures were hard to get. But this is where I was trying to get to after 12 hours of being in the car (minus one to eat and a few Cody stops) but a LONG ass drive nonetheless...

Once in OK City I rested at a Motel 6 where they allow dogs for free :-). I got a corner room that faced the freeway so it wasn't the quietest room, but once my head hit the pillow I didn't notice.

I slept in a bit then decided to go to the OK City Memorial. I figured I'll probably never get to OK City again so why not? I'm glad I did. Here are two shots of the reflecting pool, one side says 9:01 and the other says 9:03 which represents the minute before and the minute after the bombing occurred.


This is a 97 year old Ash tree that almost died in the bombing but was resilient and was nursed back to life, it is known as the Survivor's Tree.

These empty chairs represent the 168 people that were killed in the bombing.

And lastly, a piece of gnarled building that still stands as part of the memorial. It stopped raining long enough for me to get some nice pictures and walk the grounds.

Nearing Texas the rain and fog was dense but I scored a picture of a giant windmill. I was bummed about the weather because there were literally hundreds of these things lined up!!!
And this is much of what OK looks like.

Texas!!!!

A working oil rig!!!!

And here is the largest cross in the Northern Hemisphere, fucking creeptastic dude! I had to turn around to take some pictures of this beast. A tour bus was emptying as I was leaving and snickering at my new photographic evidence of how fucked up Texas really is.


I finally reached Amarillo, the half way point to Albuquerque from OK City. I stopped at Jorge's (Knotty Dee googled and found this to be the best place in town to eat) for a bean burrito with killer green chile sauce. My mouth was on fire for 45 minutes following the meal. Hell yeah!!!



After dinner was another Knotty Dee find, Cadillac Ranch, in the middle of a cow pasture. Yes, I walked this far through mud and cow shit, whipping winds and 45 degree weather (thought I left that behind) to see caddys buried half-way and tagged with spray paint. Beautiful!!!!
The walk....

Up close....

Freezing my ass off but loving it....

My shoes after the walk....

A sight for sore, tired, road hypnotized eyes!!! But still a ways to go...and finally it stopped raining about 30 minutes into NM!!!!

It is sooo beautiful here. Pictures do it no justice, really.

Stay tuned for balloon fiesta photos and more road trippin!!!!!
Peace,
MJ

Destination Nashville = Accomplished

I have officially and finally left Cleveland behind me. I thought I would be more emotional leaving and saying goodbye to people, but I wasn't. It was all smiles as I pulled out of the gray scale, chilly, dreary land of Cleve yesterday, vegan pumpkin loaf in hand...
Somewhere in mid-Ohio where fall is just beginning to occur...

My navigator who sleeps most of the time and occasionally picks her head up to investigate our whereabouts and sniff the air flowing in through the cracked window...

A shout out to you Zeus!!

Downtown Columbus (I've never been)....

Cincinasty!!!!


Entering Kentucky. It was pretty for a while, then it got boring. Hit some traffic before Louisville which slowed me down by about 45 minutes.

Kentucky country scene....which was about half the drive...

Signs of a metropolis in the midst of country!!!! Louisville KY, home of the Cardinals and apparently the "World Corvette Museum"...

Driving mania is starting to set in as I snap a photo of myself going 70mph in the middle of Bourbon-ville Kentucky!!
YES!!!! THIS IS WHERE I WANT TO GO!!!!!
Entering Tennessee, damn wiper got in the way. It appears that I brought the gray, dreary, chilly weather with me. Damn Cleveland, let me out of your grip, I AM GONE!!!

The pumpkin loaf has arrived!! Klassy Kate is the best hostess ever. Last night she whipped up some orzo with yams & spicy cheese, a lovely salad, and some dense yet delightful cornbread. This morning was banana/chocolate chip/flax seed whole wheat pancakes and coffee. YUM!!
Last night some live music at the 5 Spot with an ambient musician, who I can respect for what he's doing, but damn that shit was rocking me to sleep!

So onto the bluegrass jam at The Station Inn, which was most excellent.

There were some German's up in that piece talking amongst themselves and in sync Klassy Kate and I look at each other and say "Is that German?" then start laughing. And then there was poor Nigel (pictured in the orange/blue striped sweater)...He was a jammer and had a lady friend there to watch him. She was there with a male friend, and when she said, "Goodnight Nigel" he couldn't even muster up the words to say goodbye, he just watched her leave w/ her male friend with a bittersweet longing. It was a painful look to watch, and I'm not quite sure if he realized how painful an expression he was giving off. Klassy and I wondered what this woman did to him, or better yet, what she hadn't done.....

Off to explore downtown Nashville in the daylight. More to come.
Medusa J

National Coffee Day...

Nothing like loading a moving pod in wind and rain!! I'm on break now because it started to come down pretty heavy. I was stressed this morning upon waking, wondering if all my stuff is going to fit. It's like playing Tetris, you have to utilize all the nooks and crannies to efficiently pack it. I feel a littl less stressed as my house is becoming more empty and there is still room in the pod. Off to check to rain status/continue loading.

Also, I just read that it is National Coffee Day so all you java lovers get out there and get jittery!!!!!!!!!!

Fuck Cancer

I hate it & it scares this shit out of me. The big C, seems that everyone gets it. About two months ago a childhood friend of mine, Danielle, lost her battle to breast cancer, she was 32. I was friends with Dan, but better friends with her younger sister, Age. Today I found out that Age's husband died, of cancer. I don't know his exact age, but I'm guessing no more than 35. I am so saddened by both of these losses and struggle with the all too familiar question, why? WTF?? Two months apart? Damn. I'm at a loss for words.
MJ

Near West Syde Haps

Upon waking this morning we decided on breakfast at Nick's Diner. While enjoying our cuisine in walks a woman who could have been an ex patient (although she was not). She hovered over our table and exclaimed, "I won't eat your French Toast!" She then said to her male companion, "My husband is embarrassed of me and won't take me out." They sat down momentarily, she was then up talking on what appeared to be an out of service cell phone and shouted "Sell it, Sell it, Sell it all!!!!" She then walked over to a high top table and tried to show her phone to another patron who recommended she "Go use it outside," in an irritated tone. I laughed it off but my breakfast date was a little uneasy with this whole situation, which is understandable. It was at this point when the woman walked to the door and announced to the entire establishment, "I'm the richest woman in the world, I make $725 and I can dress you in clothes just like mine......from goodwill......SUCK MY TIT!!!" And then she made her exit, the joint filled with laughter. Note to the readers, her outfit was a black t-shirt, black shorts, black socks, black shoes, and a black fanny pack. Her male companion (whom I presume she just met and I'm not exactly sure what his intentions were but we can all imagine) stayed and finished his meal as if nothing had happened.

While driving into Tremont I finally caught a glimpse of the Abbey Market Midget. He was sporting khaki shorts that were almost to his ankles, so I'm not sure if he was trying to go for pants and they just didn't reach or in fact they really were shorts. He had a bright purple sleeveless t-shirt on as he scurried into the market. I smiled with glee, wondering to myself if he would be on the milk crates when I drove back to the OC, he was not.

Moments later I drive past a Ford Escape parked outside of St. Ignatius with the license plate DRJ. All this before noon, I'm not sure I can take much more.

Peace out,
MJ

Resignation

It has come my friends, I have resigned from my place of employment in which I've been much less than happy for a year. I gutted it out knowing I would be moving. Today is my first official day of resignation and I'm loving it. I woke up an hour ago (11:30am), which never happens. Now I'm sipping on some coffee and relaxing. I have an entire month ahead of me like this, and I couldn't be more satisfied. I had double the amount of paid time off that I thought so I'll essentially be getting paid to sit on my ass all month, even better. It delights the shit out of me to know that I fucked my employer in the ass by dropping the bomb of resignation two weeks ago, leaving one lone part-timer to do the job of 7 people. It also delights the shit out of me to know they get to foot the bill of my PTO in this time of financial crisis. Fuck you very much!

Other happenings, I accepted an offer on my house Saturday. Nothing like waiting until the 11th hour. I had 13 days left on my contract with the realtor and BAM an offer crosses the table, I counter, they accept. The housing inspection went down yesterday and to my knowledge there were no big issues but I will not be 100% until it is in writing sometime today. One more inspection after that and we should seal the deal. So let's hope all goes well.

In regards to the house selling after a year of being on the market with only 1 prior serious interest that my damn neighbor sabotaged, I say to myself, "this is fucking crazy, 13 days left on the contract, 2 days of work left, and 1 month to go before I push off to Oahu, amazing." Then I'm reminded.....

About a year ago my manager suggested I bury a St. Joseph statue in my yard. I chuckle this off and think nothing of it. She's what you'd call a believer. Fast forward to 2 months ago when we're having a telephone conversation and she inquires about the house. I tell her nothing has come and I've resigned to the idea of hiring a property manager. She again brings up the statue of St. Joseph and tells me if i don't buy one she'll get one for me. So I laugh it off again, and while wasting time at work (I've become very versed at this the last 2 months), I google "St. Joseph Real Estate" and I'm smothered with stories of success. So I have a conversation with Spamela about this and we agree that WTF, it can't hurt. So I google religious stores on the west side and find on on Lorain Rd next door to Demetri's diner. I show up one night after work and am completely out of my comfort zone in this place. The nice dumpy looking woman rushes to my assistance and when I inquire about the statue she replies with "oh the real estate statue." To my surprise there are kits sold of St. Joseph with the history of the burying as well as specific directions on what to do. I purchase it, take it home, and study the rules. I'm so non-religious that I had no clue that St. Joseph was Jesus' foster father, Mary's beau. It clicked once I put the names together, Mary & Joseph.

Long story even longer, I was off a few days over 4th of July weekend and did some yard work. I slipped St. Joseph in my pocket and once out in the yard proceded to bury him, according to the directions in the kit. I forgot all about this until Sunday night while watching The Wire. The episode in which one of the detectives goes to a Gypsy about an unsolved case. She gives him a statue to bury, the next day a different case of his is solved. I then start howling in laughter as I realize I buried St. Joseph about 7 weeks ago and got an offer. I took a picture of the statue and was going to publish it on the blog in the event that I got an offer, but then I thought, this is horse shit and deleted the pic. Now I wish I had the pic for all of you to see. Don't fret, the directions say to dig him up once the sale is finalized so I can publish a dirty St. Joseph in Sept if/when the buyer takes ownership.

I emailed my ex manager first thing Monday morning. Her response was "See, you never know." Good ol' St. Joseph pulled through in the final hours. Is this coincidence? Perhaps. Is this God trying to convert me to a believer? Perhaps. Is this one of the best things to happen this year? Absolutely.

Peace out,
Medusa Jones

I think I have a new hobby....

If you've not laughed yet today, check this out...
http://peopleofwalmart.com
Disclaimer: DO NOT LOOK AT WHILE EATING OR DRINKING****MAY CAUSE URINARY INCONTINENCE

Bloggin' just to Blog

This past week has been busy and extremely fun. Last weekend I was in Athens for a wedding, and I hit up Hocking Hills for some hiking while down there. I got to see some people from my childhood that I haven't seen in about 10-12 years and that was pretty cool. I had a lovely date for the entire weekend too, so that was an added bonus.

Wednesday I felt a strong case of Cedar Pointitis coming on so I called out of work. Best sick day I've ever taken too. I was joined by the Spamela, J, Meggers, Silk, Piddy, Salexis, and S. We covered alot of ground and hit up some of the best roller coasters in the country. While Silk was in the bathroom Piddy spotted a Cedar Point uniformed midget and I caught a glimpse of him until he scurried into the train station. He was stealth. I did have a bit of whip lash on Thursday and was tired as fuck at work, but oh freggin' well.

Last night I ventured to the Warehouse District (I know, I know), but it was early and I was there got get coffee at Phoenix since Gypsy is closed until next week. En route I passed a street band that was playing some old school R&B/soul so you know I had to stop. I grabbed an iced mocha to go and jammed out to the live music.

Today I plan on hitting up the Feast in Little Italy for some grub and people watching. It's hot as balls today so I'm hoping to score some gelato over there. More to come.

Peace out,
MJ

Stormy Saturday Random 10

It's been a minute since I've done one of these. I'm just chillin' with my cup of fee and the windows wide open listening to the storm. A random 10 is in order....

1. "Ain't Got No" - Nina Simone from Remixed & Re-Imagined. A funky little remix of one of the best jazz female singers, Nina. I think she died in '03 from the big C. She was born Eunice Waymon & earned an Honorary Doctor in Music and Humanities, as well as many other prestigious awards. If you don't have this album you should check it out, all classics remixed as the title suggests.

2. "Jamaica Rum" - Bob Marley from who knows what album. A sweet reggae instrumental for the raindrops to dance to while falling upon and cleansing the earth, as well as nourishing the soil.

3. "Century City" - Galactic from Late For The Future. Wonder if these guys are coming to Cleveland any time soon.....???

4. "Ignition" - R. Kelly from a mixed cd. Okay I almost spit my fee out when this came on. This song makes me laugh, R. Kelly is a perv.

5. "Little L" - Jamiroquai from A Funk Odyssey.

6. "Jam" - Michael Jackson from Dangerous. Impeccable timing MJ, R.I.P. Finally one normal thing happened in his life....death.

7. "Motorcycle Drive By" - Third Eye Blind from self titled album. I've always liked this band, brings me back to high school/freshman year of college.

8. "Slide" - Jill Scott from Collaborations. Her lyrics and voice are awesome. I dig her style.

9. "Notorious" - Biggie Smalls feat. Bone Thugs & Harmony. Holy shit does this cut bring me back!!! Wow, just got a flashback of my traveling softball summers & a few teammates, Jamie S., Heather D., and Debbie K. Staying up all night, driving up and down the Garden State Parkway, Southern Comfort Down Home Punch, jet skiing in the bay.....SWEET

10. "What Conquers Defeat" - Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers from Jamekya. What a positive tune to end this Random 10. 'You gotta win some then lose some to know what conquers defeat.........'

One Love,
Medusa J

Fifty.....

What a great past weekend in Cleveland. Now, for me to say that, it must have been great, seeing that I am the most qualified Cleveland hater there is at the present moment. It started with a birthday celebration for my friend Zuess. She turned 50 today and it is apparent.....read on....

I pick her up and the plan was a nice Italian dinner followed by Cold Stone Creamery for dessert. We are driving for a while, engrossed in conversation when she blurts out, "I think we passed it!!" So we turn around and head back, still can't find it. So Zuess thinks it's on the other block, so we cut over while she calls 5 different people to find the location, none of which are home because it's 7:30 on a Friday night and they are all out to dinner already. We cruise down the other street to no avail. I suggest 411, so Zuess makes the call only to find out the first road we were on is where this joint is located, we just didn't' go down far enough. Alas, at 8:02 we arrive to find a sign on the door that the place is closed. Great. So, we decide on a different Italian place, get there to find a 20-30 minute wait so we nix that idea and head for Cozumel for Mexican, well after 8pm at this point. Finally the food came and it was delish, I had forgotten how hungry and how long we had driven the burbs for this grub. This is what we have to look forward to when turning 50, forgetting where you favorite neighborhood Italian joint is in the burbs.

Upon exiting Cozumel I spy a midget wolfing down some fajitas. I can't help but text Silk to let her know that Dr. J is in the hizzie. Off to Handels we go for ice cream, I got bubble gum flavor and it was freggin awesome. Zuess and I sat to chat and eat when out of the corner of my eye I spy the same freggin midget from Cozumel heading up to the window for ice cream. At this point I'm shitting my pants and texting Silk again. I knew I had to touch him, so as he walked away with his ice cream I darted off the bench and sprinted toward him. I got so close, almost brushing against his shirt/arm. One midget, two locations, long live Dr. J!!!!!!

After coming down from my midget high I headed over to Salexis' place for her tribute to Michael Jackson dance party. Great time, lots of people, and lots of dancing through the night.

There was a cameo appearance by the late great King of Pop, yet he creeped everyone out, specially these ladies....
e
Did anyone figure out who this guy was and get him out of that position?

Salexis, Piddy, Sean posing w/ Jacko.....



Saturday was another excellent day, Mifune played down at the market. If you have not seen this band yet, you are missing out. They are a tight ass afro/funky/latin-esque project with politically conscious lyrics. They will be at the Grog Shop sometime in July, check them out!!

While jamming out to Mifune I spotted a dread mullet, or a dreadlet. Now, this is a first for me so you can imagine my glee. I was squealing on the inside like a little kid. I crept up on it and snapped a couple of shots. Here I present to you, the best dreadlet pic I could capture.

The rest of my Saturday was spent painting and napping. That evening I hit up the Fig w/ Silk & Piddy and their friend from NM. Later I found my way to Touch for old school hip-hop night where I met up with Black Buddha and JJ. It was excellent, and there was quite a bit of Michael Jackson mixed into the night, perfect.

Sunday was brunch, more painting, a nice bike ride with a nice fella, laundry, and bed early. I'm looking forward to The Roots tomorrow night at HOB then five days off in a row!!!! Lots of jam nights/music are in store for my ass.

Peace out,
MJ