Dragion

Off to SF for the New Year

2006-12-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

I am off to SF to celebrate the New Year with my Bay Area friends! This has been an incredible year, full of fun, friendship and good energy... I am so blessed! Found this cool picture and thought I'd simply throw it in for fun. I was "Brittany Claus" for my work talent show which was a kick.
Extra special thanks to my friend, f---- (no it isn't a curse word just for anonymity) who let me take him to Victoria Secret for lingerie try-on for me, but he had to leave 30 seconds before I got a dressing room.... now THAT's torture! But he was valient and timely for work, poor him! Oh it was exquisite(sp) to watch him squirm which is what it's all about anyway....just lovely, thank you.
Wishing you all a wonderful New Year and be safe but have fun!
hugs
Dragion

Surprise... a somewhat timely post thanks to drugs.

2006-12-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

Hee hee, see just when you were lulled into thinking I'm not going to post for another 3 mths.... WHAM take that, here one is. I'm trying to pull myself out of a work imposed coma that I seem to have been in for 5 mths... and am being helped by drugs, yes that's right.... SOME of my friends and my Doc seem to think I have ADD (attention deficit disorder... but not the hyper type). Which could be true... maybe a little...... okay maybe more than a little.. so in an effort to get more organized and get more out of my days I'm now on drugs.. concerta to be exact.. and it's pretty damn cool, shit IS getting done, and I'm not locked beating my head on my desk trying to be productive for hours. So hopefully I'll have more "play time", and even post more frequently.
And yes you may have to deal with a little more rambling, as I find it fun.

The first pic is simply a great piece of artwork I wanted to share, because it's wrong and lovely. The other pics above are from a Monterey scuba diving trip I made with some friends, I did not go in but I am reupping my certification for Fiji/NZ this Feb. Getting really jazzed about it! The water was clear and 51 degrees... we froze our asses off, which was nothing compared to what the divers experienced, I think I'm going to die, I don't do cold... but I will try in the name of fun and to get to do it there, wish me luck, and if I don't make it there will be my last wishes left in a frozen bottle in the back of the freezer.
Clink.

Okay okay 5mth update... time flies

2006-12-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

Yes YES I'm a lagger, but you already knew that!!! Burning man was great! I am getting used to my job thanks to some ADD drugs.... Concerta is a good thing... kinda like reading glasses for your brain... especially since I don't have the adrenalin from the ER to jump start my head, and home health paperwork can be less than inspiring.
I'm going to NZ and Fiji in FEBUARY, cant wait!!!! My nieces and nephew are growing so fast, and I"m missing all of it ( WAAAAAAHHHHHH). Really miss my sisters, oh I can't wait... getting really excited about it!

3 mth update

2006-08-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm not the great blogger with my once every 3 mth postings... but better that than never. Lots has happened, I quit my job in the ER to go into Home Health... and am LOVING it! More autonomy, flexibility, and more ways to meddle... look out!
I'm no longer working nights, and have more opportunity to bug/visit my friends, and am enjoying watching the dark circles dissapear from under my eyes. Loosing some weight too, those HH nurses don't stop for lunch or just about anything, and after weathering temperatures in the 113-115 I feel like 95 is a cool day now. Yikes.
It's good to have my life back, I've gone to Fulsom, CA twice, San Fran 3 times, Hayward once, camping once.... all in 5 weeks, while working full time. The summer is flying by!
Been hanging out a lot with my buddy Joe and his daughter Stacy, very smart, fun, and wonderful.
Burning Man is in 3 weeks so I'm staying close to home to prepare and spend some needed time with my family, as we are fighting some health issues.
Hopefully my next post will be sooner, but we'll see.

Lots has happened

2006-05-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic from Ilhe do Mel in Brazil.
My sister Wendy had her baby on April 28th, baby boy Jace (above) they will be coming home on July 4th and I can't wait to see my new nephew!
I've gotten switched to Days!!!! at my work and am excited to become a active part of my friends lives again... whether they like it or not (evil grin).
I started working out a lot at the gym starting in April, and have noticed some good improvement on my body shape... plus watching all the men working out is very very nice incentive to keep doing ones work out (inspiring to say the least).
I have a new housemate Susan from Louisiana and she is wonderful. Been a nurse for 17 yrs and a wealth of humor and knowledge.
I'm trying to get another job in ICU or Telemetry to expand my knowledge base. Home health is tempting though, lots of freedom and good pay.

Top picture is me bike-riding at Yosemite with my good friend Joe, who is also my workout buddy.

So hope to write more frequently so you don't get such a mishmash of info.

Going to LA to get tied-up Japanese style by Master K, one of the best in the US who is giving a $1000 class and needs a person to tie, then it's on to SF to check out the Gay pride parade and see if I can find some of my friends there! Yaaah it's going to be great! Will post updates and maybe some pics.

Love and hugs.

Back in Fresno

2006-03-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, we're back home... it's a weird whiplash feeling as we were trying to extend our stay in Brazil until Sat/Sun but it fell through, and here we are back in California and it's rainy and cold. We were sweating our butts off yesterday.
Feel like I fell back into a dream and South America was the reality. It's so different, it's nice being around english-speaking people again though. Have a lot to catch up on now that I'm back. Yikes... pictures to come soon.
Karen

Florianopolis to Sao Paolo

2006-03-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

We are on the move again, Carnivale was great, big parades and floats with sequined dancers and amazing costumes. The party went all night, with friendly people and revelers. I pooped out a little early but had a great time. Ran into the Swedish girls for a while and a cool American named Jonathon from Manhattan.

We~ve checked out of the hotel and are spending the day in Florianopolis until our bus leaves at 11pm for Sao Paolo, then hopefully can extend the trip until Sat/sun and stay with some of Jasons friends in Campinas 45 min away from Sao Paolo.

Juaquina Beach near Florianopolis

2006-02-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

On Sat, We found a place after a full day of travel, started getting cranky after not eating all day on the bus. But we found a terrific place We are in the `Juaquina Beach Hotel` in Juaquina beach by Florianopolis, it~s an AMAZING hotel called overlooking the beach 30 seconds away, so we are in rooms 301 and 106.
32 32 50 59 is the phone # for locals, it~s a killer place to stay and the swedish girls Elin and Alexandra are still hanging out with us. The beach was really crowded during the day but it~s quiet at night. Went body surfing and boogie boarding, then had to call it on the sun was too strong, it´s doing a tropical rain thing now, should blow over in about 30 min. More to come soon, miss having english menus and wait staff that understand english.

It´s now Tues morning and we have had a great time, not the incredible party that I had thought of, more local street parties with good stereos in the back of hatchbacks. Good energy and nice people. The party doesn´t start until about 2am so that´s where being a night worker (vampire) has come in handy.
The Swedish girls went to stay with some friends, but hopefully we~ll meet up again tonight.
It~s georgeous here and fairly mellow.
Karen

Curitiba to Florianopolis

2006-02-25T05:22:00.000-08:00

I~m in Curitiba today, we are catching a bus to Florianopolis(sp) at noon (it~s 10am now). No accomadation there yet, guess it gets full for Carnival as it~s a popular place to go. It~s by Santa Carina(?) island, so we are going there next. We are traveling with 2 swedish girls now who were scared by themselves, so it~s 5 of us now. I~ll let you know how it goes, we may have to crash with some other people or something.
We have met many an amazing traveler, and have had great experiences, the train from Morretes to Curitiba yesterday went through some amazing sights, over large gorges and steep jungle. http://gosouthamerica.about.com/library/blBrapixCuritibatrain1.htm
Just beautiful, thank goodness for digital cameras where you can take 100 pics w/o any guilt.

Ilha do Mel

2006-02-23T15:13:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
We are having a fabulous time in IHla do Mel (Honey Island) http://www.ilha-do-mel.com/ it is a natural preserve to protect the wildlife here, and just georgeous. We are staying in an air conditioned (very important) room ON the beach for $30 US p/n. International travelers from all over, very friendly and helpful.... no muggers with knifes, and we are finally relaxing...

. We went on a dolphin boat trip and got about 50 ft from about 50 of them, they are really fast... got lots of pics of the water just after the fins dissapeared.
I succeeded in not getting sunburned which is an amazing feat every day, it´s hot and sultry and really fun. We are going to Florianapolis for Carnival either tomorrow or the day after and then on to the falls and to fart around in Argentina (because it~s so close) I think I~m going to extend my trip and be back on Sunday the 5th? 6th?

Anyway email seems to work well, if you need to communicate with me, we are finding cyber cafes even in a tropical jungle! Should have seen the hike we had to do to get here (almost needed a machete... then bingo internet, who would have thought it).

hugs
Karen

3rd day in Brazil

2006-02-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Last 2 nights were great, we hung out on our rooftop of the hotel and had a private pool party. Met some neat Americans, Annie and Joby and Brazilians, and had some wonderful conversations until 3 AM. Annie is here because her daughter had a terrible rxn to the Yellow Fever vaccination, and ended up in the ICU with seizures encephapathy, and pancreatitis. guess she will be written up in Jama. They flew Dr~s in from France and London.,

We have checked out and are trying to get to Ihle de Mel (honey island) for 4 days so not sure what the internet access will be.
There is no way to download photos so you´ll have to wait.
So all in all, it~s been a great trip so far
PS EVERY american we spoke to that went to the concert lost something, one a gold necklace and 3 lost cameras, so we were glad we gave it a pass.]

First day in Rio de Janero

2006-02-18T07:15:00.000-08:00

Made it safe and sound in Rio de Janero. It's beautiful here, hot and sultry with amazing architecture and mountains. We are going to avoid the Rolling Stones concert.
Learned a lesson about walking on the beach at night here. Had a run-in with 4 locals, one was big and had a sharp knife that cornered Jason, and I had another that took my Citibank visa and threatened me with a dull knife.... I pissed them off by yelling and running, got my skirt ripped. But no one got hurt, Jason lost a digital camera and $100, but he has all his plastic.

So now we're off to change clothes, call Citibank and try and start the night over.
Will let you know of any new updates, and we'll be more careful of carrying valuables and walking in secluded spots in the dark.

---------------------
Update OMG it's hard to call out, none of the country codes are correct, and of course the instructions are in rapid portugese.... we finally got through and cancelled the card. Well it's a BEAUTIFUL sultry day here but not too hot, we are going to take a taxi to Ipanema to avoid the Stones concert (with 1.5 million I think it'll get nuts here). More later,
Karen

2006-02-07T05:24:00.000-08:00

Carnival in Rio

2006-02-07T04:57:00.000-08:00

I'm excited my friends Jason and Scarlett are going to Carnival in Rio on the 16th!
We'll be there for 2 wks, so I leave this morning to San Fran to get our visas. Wish me luck I may get lost and have to be back by Wed aft to work.
Geez talk about incentive to work out... think one week will do it? Will tell you all about it as the adventure unfolds.

My sister's bump

2006-01-21T04:21:00.000-08:00

I am up at a gawd-awful hour and can't sleep. After moving the office and being sick over X-mas. I got a new house-mate on Dec 26th and am LOVING it so far. She cooks... I eat... We are on the same fucked up schedule, it's nice having someone to commiserate with. Neat lady Deb, she has really enriched my home and my days. I almost didn't let it happen, because I was not wanting change but I'm glad I did.

That is the color of my post today, new changes, new life... It's really scary to let big changes happen, my sister is here visiting and she's pregnant. It made it all the more real, seeing "the bump" and feeling a presence moving around in there for the first time. We weren't very reverent with our comments, because it IS weird having a human inside... moving and growing on it's own, kinda like the movie Alien... except cuter. Big gambles, big chances and big changes.
She is contemplating moving to Christchurch, New Zealand for him (it's a boy), and changing her life for this little guy. I'm so proud of her, she's terrified and doing it anyway.

Moved office

2005-12-24T16:38:00.000-08:00

We moved most of my office into my house. Well all the big stuff anyway.
It looks good in it's new spot, and the old one need some deep cleaning before it's ready for it's new inhabitant/s.
Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

2005-12-23T00:53:00.000-08:00

Dragion at Burning Man Afterburn Party 05

HNT #1

2005-12-22T01:30:00.000-08:00

For my first HNT... I wanted to do something special, something that said a lot about me other than a body part.

......So here is lovely picture of the bruise I gave myself last week!

It was an early morning and I hadn't gotten my equilibrium yet, misnavigated and fell on a cuboard door with most of my body weight on my thigh. Pretty good color for a week old bruise...

I'm down with a wicked cold this week, ....evem missed some work, and have been convalescing on the couch for the better part of 4 days, high on cold medicine. I'm such a baby, luckily I don't get sick often (thank God). I hope I'm past the worst of it, because it sucks huge. (hack, wheeze, sniff, whine).
Gotta go, need more drugs......

Chocolate

2005-12-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

I have an addiction.
I'm addicted to New Zealand Cadbury's chocolate... and even though my family is there right now, they won't send me any!.... I have one square of chocolate left that I'm saving. That's it.... the last piece in all of America!
On discussion with my esteemed medical advisor, Lon, he states " I hope you can hold out and not go into a coma from chocolate deprivation.This has been known to happen to some people when they are deprived ofCadbury's. It's known in the medical texts as CCD. CADBURY CHOCOLATE DEPRIVATION."

I am currently managing with my CCD, it's a bit shaky at time... but the CCD 12 step program is a good source of support in times of acute cadbury withdrawl.
Alternate remedies have been attempted to no avail, Hershey's Ghiradelli(sp) No my friend... remedies like that have been tried. But the Hershey or Ghiaradelli(sp) chocolates are a far cry from the original and only INCREASE the longing, but for hard core addicts (like me) there is only one source of satisfaction and it's specifically NZ cadburys.
At Cost-plus the import store they tempted me with Cadbury's and I bought some with glee... only to find out that it was made in Australia (oh the sad day that was... that chocolate ended up going bad then thrown out).
I did have some luck with some Swiss brands from Trader Joes... it must be the rain fall level, and the mountains that make for the perfect level of cream in the chocolate... yes it's fitter cows that must be it... America and Australia are simply too flat and hot...so their chocolate is dry and lacks the suppleness(sp) of greener and more tender fields!

I was by the New Zealand Dunedin Cadbury's Factory once (where my addiction is created everyday) and it was a cold Sunday, our only day there and I anxiously approched the building after convincing my friend to go with me for a tour. But they weren't open on Sunday's, but I was not going to let my only chance go to see the inside of my quest.
Therefore I and my reluctant friend snuck around the factory found an open door and creeped in... There I found the service stairs and dragging my companion up 2 floors to a room with large (30 foot tall) vats. Unfortunately, a big unidentified noise spooked this brave adventurer and her reluctant attendant, so we ran out of the factory and tore across town (just in case someone was after us for it). Thus ended my only Cadbury tour... it may be easier to get in on the regular day, but I doubt it'd be as exciting.

Eventful

2005-12-14T00:05:00.000-08:00

I've had an eventful few days. I just moved about 2 weeks ago.... and between shuffling through my house looking for items is similar to trying to find a crouton in a tossed salad. But I know where everything is.... it's in a box in the garage... along with 30 other boxes (also unmarked) in the garage.
It's amazing what one can live without, when given the choice of looking for it for an unknown period of time in a cold, dark, cramped garage. It is because of THIS fact that...
I'm now thinking of myself as a minimalist. Hmmph, muffled smirks from the peanut gallery will NOT change my mind on this (grin).
Similar to ScarySquirrelMan, I am missing living in what is called the "Tower District" I was all too used to it's rhythms and which food places were open and when, and what was the best to order. I also miss the familiar faces and knowing all the shop owners and workers by name. I was/am spoiled.
I checked out "open mike night" at the Starline and it was very very good. I enjoyed getting dressed up and spending quality time with some of my more creative friends. Thank you... it was a night I will not soon forget.

picture

2005-12-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

2005-12-10T12:02:00.000-08:00

Just came up out of the dark ages to participate in this blogging thing. My friend Sinun has had so much fun with it that I wanted to give it a try.