I MUST ADMIT IT'S GETTING BETTER

. . . a little better, all the time . . .

Just got back from the Present Moment cafe in my neighborhood, a vegan, raw foods cafe that is new since I was here last. I was most pleasantly surprised by the deliciousness of a pad thai made with kelp noodles that was scrumptious. Plus two glasses of organic, non-sulfite wine. A couple of very friendly people sat next to me at the bar, and I learned that Sicilian wine does not leave you hungover when you drink it there, as it is fresh and local, and has no sulfites either, and this gentleman comes to this cafe for the unadulterated booze. My server was most helpful and informative, very kind and I felt completely at home there. I'll for sure be going back.

Visited a couple of art galleries before dinner, beautiful stuff, and more good conversations with the staff. Before that went to the new Soloman Calhoun rec center, with its very nice outdoor pool. Weirdly, the women's and men's locker rooms only had one shower each. J & T had told me not to go to that "neighborhood" cause it was "dangerous," people got shot during the daytime there. Well, of course that freaked me out, but then I spoke with I. who said that was ridiculous, the facility was brand new. It's in a solidly African American working class neighborhood, but I saw no signs of danger at all. But I am wondering if the lack of showers is in some strange way connected to being asked on the sign in form to declare my ethnicity. The white woman at the desk said I didn't have to, but I said I didn't mind. The swim team there seemed mostly caucasian, and the pool itself was huge. Things are very different here.

I visited my house with the property manager and T. this morning. The house needs a lot of cosmetic work, but still the yard is huge, fenced in, and the young men living there seem to be taking care of things well enough. J. said the house has "good bones.". My closest neighbors seems to be doing some very nice landscaping. Dell, the young man living there with a roommate, said there is some street noise from the cars, which doesn't thrill me since I am living now in a place that is completely quiet. But it's a small street, not a main thoroughfare, so how bad can it be?

I went to visit R. for a while this morning, to break the ice a bit. She immediately, before even asking how I was, had to show me her house and a bunch of other stuff I was not interested in, but then I told her what I'd been going thru the past two years and she was able to muster about 20 minutes of attention, before putting the focus back on herself. I felt very depressed after talking with her.

Coincidentally, my niece E. is at a conference in Orlando, so we might try to meet up in Daytona on Sunday. She lives in Chicago and I haven't seen her in a couple of years, so would love to see and talk with her.

Stopped at the post office to get some stamps and met Cesar, an employee there and a friend of J & T's. He was very very nice, and really good lookin'.

I've got some photos, will post at a later date.