#Spring Court needs work hours and mandated lunch breaks

[sadlybluespirited]

Rambling Thoughts

Re-reading the first book makes me think that Tamlin truly never moved on past the 50 years with Amarantha. How he operates in the first book is largely how he operates in acomaf. A constant demand of himself as the Spring Court's protector. He genuinely doesn't clock out nor deligate a single thing to someone else. It's a big contrast to Rhysand who, despite also being a pretty busy and always thinking high lord, makes time to socialise. Also, the Inner Circle is a huge help in easing some of Rhysand's workload which I have to say, is good of him.

There's also something interesting that is seemingly emphasized every now and again in the first book, which is Tamlin's strength and status as high lord. When Feyre asks Lucien about Tamlin leaving to handle the The Bog(this is coming from the audiobook):

"You said it couldn't be killed? That you can't face it."

"Tam can."

Chapter 11, when Tamlin leaves dinner early to go and hunt The Bog. There's another exchange between Lucien and Feyre about Tamlin(again, audiobook):

"He doesn't want your help hunting the bog?"

"He prefers being alone and having the bog on our lands, I don't suppose you'd understand."

"And there's no one who can help him at all?"

"He would probably shred them for disobeying his order to stay away."

Magic makes him capable even if he's unwilling. Worse is that immortality, further obscures one's limits. Tamlin hits his mental capacity many times and we see it when his anger spikes. For example, when Lucien tells him about The Bog, he breaks a fork then leaves to handle it. (Weirdly enough, he has enough manners not to slam the door?).

Overall, it's interesting to see what the downsides are to being such a powerful immortal high fae high lord.

[dcnativegal]

Learning the lingo

After 6 months in the Oregon Outback, I am slowly learning the lingo:

·        Cali refers to California. Washington is usually Washington state.

·        A rig can be anything from a tiny pickup to an enormous truck hauling cows. The latter is also referred to as a cow can.

·        Ontario is not in Canada and Albany is not in New York. They’re both in Oregon.  

·        PCS refers to a legal charge, possession of a controlled substance. And unless you have a medical marijuana card, you WILL be busted if you are in possession of weed. Every single one of my new clients who see me for substance use disorder is court mandated. I’m getting to know the probation officers.  Nice people, although one is a scary badass. I’m glad I’m not under his scrutiny.

·        The ‘nun’s cap’ is the white thingie that people pee into so as to pour more neatly their pee into a small plastic container.

·        Tameeka and Lattigo are white girls.

·        “Meadow maggots” is a derogatory term for sheep. Apparently, cow ranchers look down on sheep ranchers. Who knew.

·        I can tell a heifer from a bull or steer. I just learned how to tell a hen from a rooster. I recognize an owl call including a baby owl which is very different. I still know nothing about cuts of beef. All I know is my favorite is filet mignon, always has been. Medium well done please.  If you like beef, Lake County is the place to be. We ate steak at a friend’s house that was one of the “Murphy cows.” Now that’s eating local and organic.

 Things I’m getting used to:

·        Traveling on a road all by myself for dozens of miles before there is another vehicle.

·        Not locking anything

·        Not recycling anything. Sorry. It’s a huge hassle here… I’ll work on that, especially cans…

·        Bad teeth. Many people here have missing teeth. I do wonder what they can eat and how they accommodate the missing ones.

·        No one, but no one, dresses up. I’ve been to a funeral. One person besides me wore dressy black. This is a very casually dressed place. I might end of giving away all my dressy stuff.  

·        Horseshoe art. I am the proud owner of a horseshoe Christmas tree.

·        Actual tumbleweeds, blowing across the road.

·        The lack of ethnic food. I like a couple of diners that are run by Mexican people, and the food is delish. There’s a Chinese food place in Lakeview­­. A fabulous Thai place in Klamath. In Paisley, we prefer the pizza at the Pioneer to the pizza at Homestead Café, but the beef au jus is better at the Homestead.  I dream of tekel gomen and doro tibs with injera, but even the Ethiopian place in Reno NV has closed.

·        The old air raid siren in Lakeview that rises up and into everyone’s awareness (everyone who can hear with their ears) every weekday at noon. Same sound that I heard once in Brooklyn when visiting Jonah. It was Friday early evening and the air raid siren goes off. I’m startled and probably cursed: what the hell is that? Jonah says, oh it’s the beginning of Sabbath for the Hasidim. In Lakeview, it’s a test of the volunteer fire department. Which tries very hard.

·        Ahem, everyone has medical flight insurance.

Things I can’t get used to:

·        Watching for deer on the road. They spring out of nowhere. I saw a pickup truck hit a deer right in front of me. The deer was so young I thought it was a dog. It hit the front and flew into the edge of the road. The truck stopped and I road on past, shaken. Minutes later, I was helping Valerie feed the cows. I’m sitting in Old Blue, odometer north of 475,000 miles, with the seat coil pinching my left flank, and I’m driving it through an eager and hungry crowd of yearlings. I was panicked that I’d hit one, and the damn fools are going counterclockwise around the truck as I lurch forward with the clutch and the gas. They’re wondering, is the hay coming off the other side? Am I missing some alfalfa?? I didn’t hit any but I was terrified. I’ve already killed a chipmunk and a rabbit…

·        People take serious lunch breaks and whole operations shut down for 90 minutes. The post office, the library, the DMV. If it’s a one-person show, of course they need a break.  Just a TAD inconvenient, and I often forget.

·        Listening to Oregon Public Radio and the strongest station is in Portland so the weather has nothing to do with our weather, east of the Cascades. When I listen to the Lakeview station there’s a bit of a mention, but I seem to miss the local reports. I’m used to living in the capital city of the most powerful country in the world. Oh and most of the weather is the same through large swaths. Here there are microclimates every 10 miles. Weather.com says it’s 31 but my thermometer tells me its 36. I’m told Paisley is in a banana belt. I’ve yet to see any banana trees.

·        Howling winds. Pretty normal around here apparently, especially in North Lake where I work now, but when there is a wind advisory, which is frequent in winter, we’re talking 80mph gusts. I wait for the roof to fly off. So far, still there. I’ve never before been kept awake by wind.

·        The almost complete absence of black people. One of my addicts told me, when I mentioned how few there are here, said wait ‘til the July 4th fireworks. There’ll be something like 20 black people!

 Things I’m getting more used to but is still hard:

·        Conservative points of view. Anti-immigrant especially. Which I don’t understand. I’ve heard this opinion from several people, spontaneously, like when I was getting the computer all tuned up to start an assessment, and this loquacious client says, what do you think about Trump and his immigration stuff? I think it’s great: not enough jobs for Americans. Those wetbacks come here and jump on welfare…   All of which is so not true. But what I do is give him a look and say, so, what brings you here?  Another time I was hanging out in the only pharmacy in all of Lake County (does that not boggle the mind??) and there are three women of a certain age hanging out at the register, and one says to another, those immigrants sure don’t have a work ethic. I couldn’t help myself, I said, at the register, That’s not true! And the woman who turned to tend to me didn’t look at me, rang me up, and wished me a nice day. Right. I came out to her sidekick on another visit. I’d picked up Valerie’s medication and the woman says, Oh so YOU’RE the Little! And I said, no, I’m the Lincoln, Valerie Little is my partner. Again, no eye contact, and “oh, I’ve got it now!” I’m just coming out willy nilly. I really can’t be bothered. We’re here (in tiny numbers in Lake County), we’re queer, and I’m not hiding that fact from you. My timidity from my early weeks here has vanished.

·        Terrible internet. There’s still a wait list for new accounts in Paisley and in some other parts of Lake County, and there’s some delay. If I had more energy I’d do some research and then bug the shit out of one of my elected representatives. Of course, we the internet-less are maybe 50 families? But still….  One blessing: getting to know the library, which has wifi and an amazing librarian. We use a MiFi gizmo which maxes out pretty quickly when I stream, so I don’t. No more binge watching. Another blessing: I’m actually reading books again.

·        It’s way harder to see the people I love. I have to ship my kids in at great expense, with long drives to retrieve them, and a motel room at either end. I hope my sister and some portion of her family can come visit. Any friend who wants to see the Oregon Outback on the way to Crater Lake and then the coast of Oregon has a bedroom in my house, and I’ll come get you from Reno or Portland. Preferably Reno.  There are also tiny airports in Eugene and Klamath, if you have the money.

·        My church. Hard, but I still go.

What I love:

·        The broad vistas everywhere, even looking toward the end of the street, there’s a field, and mountains in the distance. The changing sky, and sun and clouds. The look of the animals in the fields, mostly cows, but also horses, sheep, goats and llamas or are they alpacas? And there’s that Shetland pony farm by Klamath Falls.

·        I’ve discovered some amazing podcasts which keep me awake during the long drives around here. This American Life, Moth Radio Hour and Modern Love are my favorites.

·        The clean air. It’s so windy that it’s always fresh. Except in Lakeview which has some sort of air pattern that holds smoke and fog close to town.

·        The lack of sirens. I only think about them when I’m in a city like Eugene or Bend and hear one.

·        The lack of pretension. I’m talking about yards and houses. Whatever shelters you from the wind can be a home. Fifth wheels or recreational vehicles can be a ‘tiny house’���I believe others have pointed out the difference in class between tiny houses and mobile homes. (Sorta like erotica is for rich people, porn for everyone else.) A whole lot of people out here live in mobile homes, or rather, manufactured homes. Cozy, affordable housing. There may be chickens in the yard, 5 vehicles in various stages of disrepair, a wagon full of bark (as in our front yard), or a fence made of wagon tires. Whatever. The chair of any DC area homeowner’s association would have a heart attack here.

·        Friendliness. The tiny waves from drivers in cars (a flick of the fingers up from the steering wheel.)   People holding doors open for you when you’re not that close to the door. Even when they don’t approve of your ‘lifestyle’ as I know one storekeeper most vehemently does not, I am waited on courteously.  I figure that much of this is because of the monoculture and the general scarcity of humans. George Lakoff calls this “in-group nurturance.”  Still, it’s nice. In DC, I was so tired of being honked at by the car right behind me at every green light. Here in Lake County? No green, or yellow lights. There are two blinking red lights that I know of just so you’ll wake up from your long drive stupor and notice there’s another tiny highway intersecting.

·        I live in a lovely loft-home made cozy from Valerie’s Korean furniture and my art. I’ve made a life here. I work 3 days a week, which is in my opinion an absolutely ideal schedule, especially when the work is so demanding of heart and mind as mine is for me. I have a writer’s group, a church, and a couple of friends. I’m grateful for a generous coworker who’s helping me get acclimated to Christmas Valley: another planet in the solar system of Lake County. Talk about off the grid….and not hippies either. More like burnt out and traumatized veterans. I live with my lover and friend, Miss Valerie, when she isn’t a ranch hand. She gets ‘sirred’ in Lakeview restaurants, but so what, we share the huevo rancheros without skipping a beat. She’s funny, practical, and creative. Girl has a work ethic that puts me entirely to shame. Also frugal. This is one of our power struggles. I’m like, buy the damn thing. She’s like, ‘make it, fake it or do without.’  This frontier world is about that for real. I make her laugh, she demands kisses as I walk by, and when I’m eating solid food, she makes me eggs every morning and scrapes off ice from the windshield. The cross-continent relocation was well worth the schlep.

    �N۳��