Un-Worldly Traveler….And Then Some

As much as I travelled with Lestat, I’ve never really traveled for actual work.  So, coming up at the end of February I will be on the very first of many trips for work.  I’ll be in Washington DC to visit NASA headquarters and to attend a conference for the Space Grants.  Which means all fifty state space grants will descend on DC in late February and early March.  Okay now that I’ve got that over with here’s the part I don’t like, I’ve never been outside the state of Texas for travel (not including driving into New Mexico for work) and as stupid as this sounds, I’m fucking terrified.  Not of the flight or travel itself but of being at a conference and mingling with people who have been doing this way longer than I have and know this shit by heart.  I know the finance part, the handling grant funds part that’s no problem, but I’m wondering if I’ll be able to fit in with these space grant people.  I’ll be there for a total of four days and my boss is going with me and I’ve already threatened him to not leave me on my own at any cost.  Yes, that sounds just a bit dramatic but, what can I say?  This is my first time traveling and I should be excited and happy, but I’m really not. 

Something Respectfully Curious

As most of you already know, I travel into New Mexico from Texas to work at a university in NM.  To which on my commute each day I have to travel a mountain pass to get to work.  It’s not a treacherous mountain pass but it’s a daily commute I enjoy because it’s a chance to prep for work or unwind afterwards.  Before the Christmas break there were notices on both sides of the Anthony Gap (the mountain pass I take every day) notifying drivers that they were going to start the road widening project on January to make that part of the highway a four-lane road.  Currently it’s just a two-lane road which makes it a bitch when you’re behind construction truck going 15 miles an hour and holding up the rest of traffic.  When I began my new job, on the first two weeks I noticed that along the roadsides there were about 16 or so crosses.   These crosses or memorials were probably put there for loved ones who lost their lives along this stretch of road.  Some of them were just plain wooden crosses, others were more intricate, one of them is a wrought iron sculpture of a cowboy on one knee with his head bowed in prayer and on the bottom, one work, Mark.  I almost cried when I noticed this because I don’t now who Mark was but he lost his life along this road and his family took great pains to place this memorial with such love. 

So now that NMDOT is working on this road, they began to widen the sides with heavy machinery, bulldozing about a ten-foot-wide patch on both sides.  This morning as I passed I saw that they had started moving dirt, vegetation and rocks from the sides of the roads and saw that most, if not all the memorials were gone.  I was flabbergasted because even though I don’t believe in marking the place where a loved one died, I respect those families that have gone through that tragedy and using markers to as a cathartic way of coping.  I couldn’t believe this and all day long I was wondering, who could I call to ask about this.  Yes, I did put that much thought into something most people don’t even think about.  But then on my drive home, I saw some of the construction workers moving the “Mark” memorial back behind where the road will eventually be.  I was relieved, and my faith in humanity was restored once again.  That is until of course, someone does or says something stupid to make me lose faith in all for the four-thousandth time yet again. 

Vintage Jewelry Collector

Because of the fact that I’ve had no energy to actually do what I use to love doing, run and swim, I’ve found myself watching YouTube videos on vintage jewelry.  I began watching then as I delved further into this manic and expensive hobby (I don’t have the funds to even try to get to the level of some of these collectors) I realized, what a fucking minute!!  I already have a lot of the jewelry these YouTubers are touting as vintage and worth a lot of money.  The first is true but the second it depends on the condition of the item and if you can find a market or person who’d buy this vintage jewelry from you.  Most of it came from my mom and at the time I just left it in the boxes she gave them to me in and were in a huge box in one of my many closets.  A few weeks ago, over the Christmas break I saw a couple of more of the videos and realize my mom had bought some of this stuff when it first came out.  Names like Coro, Trifari, Haskell, Schiaperelli and the such would come up over and over.  I was curious and I went on the hunt for that huge box of my moms old jewelry. 

A Coro Pegasus heart bracelet my mom gave me. She bought it when she was 18 years old, so that would make this circa 1961

After I did I found that she not only collected Avon jewelry, she occasionally bought Coro and Trifari.  I was delighted and yet perplexed at why I never actually saw her wear any of the high-end costume jewelry?  Because I don’t remember seeing her get dressed up for work, I mean not like I do.  But then again, she was a warehouse manager for the local school district so that may have had something to do with it.  But I was surprised that she gave me a lot (I do mean a lot of costume jewelry) that is actually worth something.  But I’m conflicted as to what to do with it because they belonged to my mom.  I’ve selected a few great pieces and will keep those for myself.  But I have tons of her costume jewelry and I wonder if I should just sell most of it. 

A Coro parure my mom bought around 1965. It looks gold but it’s not, it’s a silver color.

An Avon brooch and earrings designed by Nina Ricci.

This set I bought myself but I’ve only worn it once. It’s also by Nina Ricci for Avon. I have no idea why Avon jewelry gets such a bad rap. Its jewelry line is magnificent.

One Thing I Can’t Live Without

A small insight into my ever so complicated and weird life, one thing I can’t live without is………Spearmint Chapstick.  This is the only Chapstick I will ever use, or the only lip balm I’ll ever use.  I’ve tried so many others but there’s nothing like my favorite.  Why Spearmint Chapstick you ask?  I can’t really say, all I know is that I use Chapstick a lot, like all the time.  When I’m not wearing lipstick that is, but it’s always within reach for me.  I use it all through the day, and right before I go to bed at night and after I have lunch I don’t reapply my lipstick, I use Spearmint Chapstick.  The thing is, it’s getting harder and harder to find.  The last batch (yes I buy it in batches) I got from Amazon, which was a box of 24 and that was when I bought my house.  I’ve got a couple left but they are getting more expensive and harder to find because I’m thinking I’m the only one that uses Spearmint Chapstick.  So there’s a weird tid-bit about me you might have not known, or cared to know.  Hey it’s my blog so……yeah.

Until next time……this is the Huntress, saying…”Don’t be a Moth Around a Dim Yellow Bulb, Be a Moth to a Flame, Make it worth the Burn!”

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