The Weekend and Some Mining

Every now and then on this blog I reveal a scintillating piece of information about myself of which few people are aware.

Today I am about to tell you about my secret passion for late 19th/early 20th century mining and ghost towns -- although I believe I may have already let the cat out of the proverbial bag last year with this blog entry (scroll down to Thursday, March 15).

Paola and I had a whirlwind southern AZ sightseeing weekend, and I think I may have left her more exhausted than relaxed. However, I firmly believe that one shouldn't waste a vacation lounging around, unless you are in the Caribbean at an all-inclusive resort. And I must say that Paola is an excellent sport and willing to do just about anything that an insane tour guide throws at her.

For example...

• We hit the Sonoran Desert Museum in blowing wind and sprinkling skies and frigid (for AZ standards) temperatures.
• We sipped on too many beers and went shopping at Urban Outfitters slightly drunk.
  
• We went to the Southwest Indian Arts and Crafts Festival at the Arizona State Museum and bought things we didn't need. Plus, Paola won a raffle there and got a killer CD of some Apache flute player...

• We drank with astronomers until well past East Coast bedtime.
• We hit the rodeo with full force, enjoyed the bronco riding, and Paola walked home in some new, very kickass boots that I would have bought myself if I had an extra $130 lying around...

P's new boots... which inspire instant jealousy on my part just looking at them.

• We ate our share of Mexican food, and I introduced my muse to Sonoran hot dogs, which are ridiculously high in calories, fat, and random pig parts... and yet irresistibly delicious.
• We visited San Xavier del Bac just one hour before her flight left.

However, without a doubt, my favorite part of the entire weekend was our day trip to the southern AZ towns of Bisbee and Tombstone. Katie came along for the ride as well, and seeing as she is also a great sport and willing to do many a dorky/nerdy activity with me, she didn't complain once (or noticeably roll her eyes) when I expressed my long-time dream of taking a tour in the Queen Copper Mine in Bisbee.


Here I am with Katie in downtown Bisbee.

Here's the thing... I went to Bisbee back in 2005, right after I moved here, but we got there too late, and the mine tour was already done for the day. I was almost as crushed that day as I was when I was eight years old and learned I was too small to ride a mule into the Grand Canyon (...inspiring me to cry out, "What?!? Cindy Brady did it, and she was smaller than me!!!").

Anyway, for almost two years now, dreams of the Queen Mine tour have danced in my head, and thanks to my two fabulous friends, it finally became a reality.

Allow me now to share my dream-come-true with all of you...

The Queen Mine tour in pictures:

Our arrival...

... jeesh, I look like an old lesbian in this photo. Which I am not, by the way.

All suited up and on board the train going into the mine...

... we were on the last car.

Preparing for the descent...

... I was so excited that I took this picture myself. I enjoy the jaunty angle of Katie's hardhat.

Just prior to departure...

... the elderly, the children, and us.

A view out to our right...

... a Bisbee vista with coal cars.

The official entrance into the mine...

... which consists of six levels and hundreds of miles of track.

After riding into the mine about 1,000 feet, we stopped and climbed these tiny, cramped stairs...

... which ended in a cavernous room full of copper and silver ore.

This is my favorite photo of the day...

... Katie eying some copper veins inside the cavern.

Here's one of those copper veins...

... the mine was never fully stripped so a lot of minerals remain.

I tend to look demented when I am enthusiastic about something...

... I call this my "overexcited" face. My eyebrows raise about two full inches above my eyes, causing me to look like an ass.

Here's our charming tour guide, Juan, who worked the mine from the 1930s until the 1970s...

... he's 86 years old and in fine shape, if I don't say so myself. (That sounded a little pervy and Anna Nicole-esque, which I didn't intend, it's just that he was pretty fit for 86.)

And here is Juan about 3,000 feet into the mine, showing us how the elevator worked...

... there were all of these complicated bell tones for different floors and locations.

Paola poses next to the Mexican worker mannequin...

... as our Mexican tour guide Juan said, "Only white man and Mexican worked this mine. Mostly Mexican. No Jew. No Chinaman. No black."

I also must add here that we had one Asian woman in our tour group, and Juan asked her if she was Hawaiian, to which she responded "no." He then said "aloha" to her anyway.

And here is our grand finale photo back outside the mine...

Viva la mining!

Good News & Bad News

I have good news and bad news today...

First, the good news:

My friends, Nichole & Luis, had their first child this morning.

Welcome Mia Isabella!!!!!

No picture yet of the newborn, but word has it she's perfectly healthy and looks exactly like her dad. I'll post a pic once they get home from the hospital, but here are her proud parents back on their wedding day...

CONGRATS NICHOLE & LUIS!!!!

And the bad news... my friend Jojo's dad is in the hospital in NYC after suffering a massive stroke and isn't doing so well.

Here's a big hug from Tucson...

I'm thinking about you.

Back to the Grindstone

It was truly a southwest sight seeing vacation this past weekend... full of desert views, mining and ghost towns, American Indian arts, the rodeo, mucho shopping and Mexican food, and a visit to an 18th century Spanish mission.

Paola left today and is now unfortunately stuck in Dallas, where she missed her connecting flight.

I am vegetating and recovering from hostess duty.

I spent this evening doing laundry, going grocery shopping, drinking a couple of beers with Ingrid and Anna, and playing a few games of "Guitar Hero" at our friend Manny's house. I was home by 9pm. Now I am exhausted.

I will sound much more coherent in a day or two.

Until then... good night.

Paola is Visiting!

My friend, Paola, arrives today from Philly and will be here visiting me and seeing the sites of southern AZ through Monday...

Ancient photo of us (2002?!?)

... so my blog is going on hiatus for a few days... then prepare for a mega-weekend update!

Happy Birthday, T!!!

My brother is turning 36 today...


After the gym, I called him to wish him a happy birthday, and my dad, who was taking my brother out to lunch in Denver, answered the phone and pretended to be my brother. They have very similar voices, but he didn't fool me for long. After mistakenly wishing the wrong person (my dad) a happy birthday, I caught on and just said, "Dad, I know this is you." My father found it uproariously funny though.

In honor of my brother's birthday, I present you with a small treasure trove of his best late 80's looks (circa 1988-89), namely the mullet. I should warn you that my brother was a bit of a metal head in high school (in contrast to me, who blared Tears for Fears and The Thompson Twins in an attempt to drown out his Iron Maiden and Slayer selections played at full volume in his room next door).

Anyway, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one with embarrassing 80's photos in my family.

So happy birthday, T. Love you!!!...

I call this the cleaned up Anthrax look.

Nice acid washed jeans...


Awww... so cute! Even with a mullet!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

A Morning With Baby Serena

Today was my first real day on the job with baby Serena. I arrived at 8:15am, she fell asleep at 8:30am, and she slept until 11:30am.

Here she is snoozing...

She likes to sleep in her little jungle swing in the living room.

I was thrilled to have three full hours of reading and homework time (which I would be far too undisciplined to do at my own apartment) so I was really productive.

The last time I was there, it was my "trial run," and she screamed for a couple of hours, making me question my sanity and wonder if I had permanent hearing loss. So this time around was a dream. When she woke up, she freaked out a little bit (not seeing her mom, I suppose), but then she was perfectly amiable, with the exception of a few minutes around noon where she did turn into crabby applekins.

During that time, I took her outside on the back porch to calm her down. Their next door neighbor is completely ripping out his backyard and installing a pool so there were a bunch of contractors hacking up a palm tree they had cut down in preparation for the pool foundation. Both Serena and I were enthralled by the amount of debris created from a chopped up palm and stood staring for a while.

At one point, the guy who seemed to be in charge of things came over and said hello. I asked him a few questions about what they were doing, and he introduced himself as the head contractor. As he was explaining things to me I wondered if he thought I lived there and would want to ask me questions about the property line or something. Simultaneously, I realized I actually looked old enough to be this infant's mother.

So I quickly added the caveat, "Oh, I'm just the babysitter."

And he said, "Yeah, I could tell."

OK, what does that mean? Was that a compliment or an insult?

The possible translations are:
a. Yeah, you don't look like a mom. Heh heh. (Sort of like a MILF, but instead I'm a BILF.)
b. There's no way you're old enough to be lugging around kids in real life. (After all, it could be that I appear far younger than my actual years.)
c. You look like you've never held a baby before, woman. (No comment necessary.)
d. You thought I thought you were a homeowner?!?!? Now that's funny. (And yet so true, so true.)

So cast your vote or give me another suggestion or tell me to stop reading into things so much.

Or say nothing, which is what 99.9% of you do anyway.

The Track Jacket Club

I really love this picture...

It's "The Track Jacket Club" warming up outside Zachary's after pizza last night.

Luckily, Jordy did a fine job capturing the moment when all of us realized we were wearing track jackets and broke into spontaneous exercise routines.

I had a much better result than D., who lent his camera to Ben, AKA photographer of the year, and ended up with this.

And by the way, I'm not caressing Gerry's stomach, although it appears through a trick of photography that I am. My hand was actually mid-air in my "jogger's pose."

Another Raucous Friday Night

Our friend Ash was in town this past weekend, and I have to say, it was a non-stop party Friday night. So I'm going to be short on words and heavy on pictures because, well, I guess they really do say a thousand words...

Meeting spot = No Anchovies outdoor patio under the heat lamps.
Attendees = Just about everyone I know, except Ingrid (on her belated honeymoon) and Anna (nursing Alex who was home sick).

Here was part of the crowd...

Nichole, Andy, Jordy, and Katie.

More of the crowd...

Astronomy guy who went to Swarthmore (forget his name right now), Katie's twin sister Becky (visiting from Michigan), Nichole, back of Andy's head, and D. I have no clue who the woman in the mouse fur cap is.

A girl I don't know, John, Luke, Ash, & Greg...


Gerry & me...

Some guy told me I looked like a librarian that night. I wasn't sure that was a compliment or an insult. He insisted it was a compliment, but guys say the dumbest things sometimes. I guess it was the blazer and glasses. I think I look a little like a large rabbit in this picture.

Here are Swarthmore guy and D...

Please note D's sneer. He's showing off the tooth he wishes to be platinum one day. You can read more about that right here.

Ben (looking mildly bored), E. and T.


The party really got started after a round of Irish car bombs...

... which I only recommend on an empty stomach and if you can gulp things quickly. I was pathetic at my attempt to swig down a Guinness with a Bailey's shot mixed in. Talk about filling. Now I know why I stopped doing things like that after I turned 30.

Here is Katie with her Michigan crew...


I tend to get very huggy after a beer or two. Truth be known, I don't give hugs very often in real life. Unless I've known you for years and years...


Good lord... more hugs... and my ears are turning red... never a good sign...

... I think Ash is thinking about running here.

Someone else hugging besides me... Dave & Christian...


We all stopped by Jordy's, and Ash borrowed someone's bike for a while...

... probably not the best idea.

After an hour or two at Plush, here are the stragglers making it home around 3am with slices of pizza...

Ahhhh, how I will miss college life! (again.)

Valentine's Inspired Creativity (now with pics)

I had a most interesting Valentine's Day this year...

My friend, Ben, invited me to a Valentine's/80th Birthday dinner at his neighbors' house. He lives across the street from Aggie, an 84-year old artist, and Carl, who was a Tucson city worker for 32 years and turned 80 last night. They've been married for 60 years.

Every year they have a big dinner party with all of their friends. Ben warned me in advance that although we were at the "cool" table, the average age was approximately 70 years old.

As you can see, he was correct...

One of the more interesting things I discovered during dinner was that the lady in the patterned jacket in the blue folding chair went to Miami University in Ohio, like me, only about 40 years earlier.

Here's Ben & a lady named Suzie, who used to own a kids' book store in town...

... and our tasty buffet dinner, with some of Aggie's art in the background. We also sat with a prison warden, a harlequin romance novelist (the warden's wife... ha!), and a veterinarian.

We all had to craft Valentines before dinner (there's nothing like glue gunning with a crew of 78-year olds), and hands down, this man was the winner...

... an engineer and Valentine creator extraordinaire. Seriously, his 3-D effort was pretty impressive.

As a comparison, check out my OK-but-not-nearly-as-good attempt...

... which I slaved over for at least 30 minutes before dinner. Ben helped me come up with some of the sayings on my mini paper hearts, like "eat me" and "booty train." Carl, Aggie, and their friends might be a little older than us, but they're pretty liberal.

Speaking of creativity, I have been introduced recently to one of the web's best ever sites, called "Learning to Love You More," which is the brainchild of artist & screenwriter Miranda July, who I really admire. I was so inspired by the great ideas on this website that I've decided to become a regular contributor.

Tonight I created and submitted my entry for "Assignment #63: Make an Encouraging Banner," which hopefully will be posted in the next day or two.

Here's my banner to myself (and all of you)...

I've always loved this song by the Beatles, and my dad used to play the Abbey Road album all the time when I was a kid so this song has a lot of nice memories for me. Plus, I hung the banner above the big picture window in my living room/bedroom, where I am greeted by the Tucson blue sky when I open my shades every day, right after I wake up.

Happy day...

The XXL Condom

In case you forgot what it's like to walk around a college campus in the middle of a weekday afternoon (while you're trapped in your cubicle), allow me to remind you...

... it's the human condom with his friend, the potentially slutty Ugg Boot Girl, handing out prophylactics to horny young students.

I'm so glad I had my camera with me.