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camwynApparently Scharfenberger Mocha Chocolate tastes pretty damn good even after you've had it in your purse on a hot Texas summer day and it's partly melted and the cocoa butter's bloomed (the technical term for when it turns white on the surface). And the foil wrapper holds it in right good, too.
Went to Mission Concepcion, the first of the Spanish missions (other than the Alamo) in San Antonio's Historic Missions National Park. They still hold Masses there. In Spanish, true, but hey - how appropriate can you get? Other than Latin, I mean. It's peculiar to encounter a building so old that's actually within the United States, and even more peculiar to realize it's still being used for its original purpose, at least in part (I sure didn't see any farming or military defense going on at what was left of the walls). We're such a young country. I think that's part of what attracts me to China - it's freaking old, and its history is continuous back through more ages than most Americans can count. Reminds me of Benjamin Disraeli's remark - 'yes, sir, I am a Jew; and when your ancestors were savages on a forgotten island, mine were priests in the Temple of Solomon'.
But anyway.
Not much longer here in Texas. I might try to go to the other missions tonight, there's two or three more incl. San Juan Capistrano No Not The One With The Birds, but the Mission Road's kinda got this little problem with flood debris blocking it. It's a relatively low priority road to clear, since people are having trouble getting to things like, oooh, food and clean drinking water, so I understand I may not be able to see the other Missions. That's okay. I bought postcards, and I saw one Mission, and I touched it. I dropped off some money in the 'help us maintain the park' box, and I bought a book on foods the Americas gave the world at the gift shop, so that'll help too. Tomorrow is more work, and so is Tuesday; Wednesday is 'out-processing', which mostly means getting people to sign off that yes, I gave back the cell phone, and yes, I'm psychologically OK after all I've seen (or at least psychologically the same as when I left - Disaster Mental Health deals mostly with post-traumatic stress). I should be going home Thursday.
Dear Gods, I want to go home. I want to get back to the same stupid stuff I do at the office and back to fuming at people for asking for help when they can't be bothered to read the error messages that would tell them what to do, because at least it will be home. I don't belong here. Let other people have it, they'll be happy to take it; as for myself, I want New Jersey back. I plan to spend the first available chunk of time I can manage hiding in the recesses of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or possibly walking through Chinatown, or maybe both. Maybe going up to the Empire State Building again. Maybe just going to Dewey's - it's hard to find a comic book store here, although I finally did. I hope to spend Saturday at the wild animal safari in Great Adventure, even though the windows have to be rolled up for that - that's something I discovered here that's cool, and I"m lucky to have it in my own state, too, though I've never yet seen it. Maybe a Renaissance Faire...
The Texans have a lovely state, but it's theirs. Not mine. I came here to serve the people who're serving them in their time of need, and that's the important thing. If this were Starship Troopers, I'd be that much closer to my citizenship, so I can deal with it all; but I'll be glad to go home.
Went to Mission Concepcion, the first of the Spanish missions (other than the Alamo) in San Antonio's Historic Missions National Park. They still hold Masses there. In Spanish, true, but hey - how appropriate can you get? Other than Latin, I mean. It's peculiar to encounter a building so old that's actually within the United States, and even more peculiar to realize it's still being used for its original purpose, at least in part (I sure didn't see any farming or military defense going on at what was left of the walls). We're such a young country. I think that's part of what attracts me to China - it's freaking old, and its history is continuous back through more ages than most Americans can count. Reminds me of Benjamin Disraeli's remark - 'yes, sir, I am a Jew; and when your ancestors were savages on a forgotten island, mine were priests in the Temple of Solomon'.
But anyway.
Not much longer here in Texas. I might try to go to the other missions tonight, there's two or three more incl. San Juan Capistrano No Not The One With The Birds, but the Mission Road's kinda got this little problem with flood debris blocking it. It's a relatively low priority road to clear, since people are having trouble getting to things like, oooh, food and clean drinking water, so I understand I may not be able to see the other Missions. That's okay. I bought postcards, and I saw one Mission, and I touched it. I dropped off some money in the 'help us maintain the park' box, and I bought a book on foods the Americas gave the world at the gift shop, so that'll help too. Tomorrow is more work, and so is Tuesday; Wednesday is 'out-processing', which mostly means getting people to sign off that yes, I gave back the cell phone, and yes, I'm psychologically OK after all I've seen (or at least psychologically the same as when I left - Disaster Mental Health deals mostly with post-traumatic stress). I should be going home Thursday.
Dear Gods, I want to go home. I want to get back to the same stupid stuff I do at the office and back to fuming at people for asking for help when they can't be bothered to read the error messages that would tell them what to do, because at least it will be home. I don't belong here. Let other people have it, they'll be happy to take it; as for myself, I want New Jersey back. I plan to spend the first available chunk of time I can manage hiding in the recesses of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or possibly walking through Chinatown, or maybe both. Maybe going up to the Empire State Building again. Maybe just going to Dewey's - it's hard to find a comic book store here, although I finally did. I hope to spend Saturday at the wild animal safari in Great Adventure, even though the windows have to be rolled up for that - that's something I discovered here that's cool, and I"m lucky to have it in my own state, too, though I've never yet seen it. Maybe a Renaissance Faire...
The Texans have a lovely state, but it's theirs. Not mine. I came here to serve the people who're serving them in their time of need, and that's the important thing. If this were Starship Troopers, I'd be that much closer to my citizenship, so I can deal with it all; but I'll be glad to go home.
