28 May, 2011

Mercury Square Moon

So another week whizzes by in Cambridge and it's time to come out to Silver for the summer. Sweet Pea managed his usual trick of prising open the closet door and disappearing inside in spite of my best effort to keep it closed, but the gouge on my arm was only about a quarter of an inch deep and the three Band-Aids Amah put on it almost covered it.

No problems with the flights, Sweet Pea a good little Rescue Remedied boy in his travel case once he was in, got to El Paso at 9:00 pm on time and went to the Enterprise counter to pick up the rental (oh HOW American it makes me feel to write that), making my little speech about I asked for a car with only half a tank of gas because the last time I did this it cost me $40 extra just because the tank wasn't empty when I took it back blah blah blah. Just fill it before you return it, says the agent, and there's no charge. May I see your driver's license and credit card, please?

Oh, is that all I have to do? I say, handing over my two pieces of plastic and wondering if I should bother to say Well nobody told me THAT, and then I hear the agent say Do you have an updated license? What? Updated license? I say, closing my eyes, opening them to look at my face the way I looked eight years ago and the printed Expires 05/08/11, well aware that the day's date is 05/27/11. I close my eyes again, thinking This is it, this is proof, the way I'm living is ridiculous, it was bad enough when I lived in two places and now I'm trying to live in three this is proof I can't do it, it's crazy, and open them when I hear the agent telling me she's really sorry but she can't accept an expired license, they did it a couple of months ago and got into real trouble, and I say Of course, I understand, it's fine, it's not your fault but do you know a pet-friendly hotel nearby? I think the Wyndham, she says, and I pick up Sweet Pea in his carrier and drag my wheelie bag off to the board listing hotels near the airport to see if she's right.

Before I start that I call L in Silver to say Don't wait up for me, I won't be there tonight, and explain why. I can barely hear her reply because it's a new cell phone and I haven't learned how to up the volume, but I hear enough to know she's saying she'll come and get me and tell her not to. No way, I shout, I can hardly hear you but don't even think of coming to get me, it's six hours here and back and it's already ten. Mumble mumble, I hear, and repeat what I just said. Mumble mumble. Just don't come, it's crazy, I shout, but check online and find me a pet-friendly hotel. Mumble mumble I'll call you in ten minutes, I hear, which makes me think she heard what I said.

Then I call the Wyndham, 200 yards away, yes they're pet-friendly and they'll send a van to pick me up thank you God thank you Jesus, so I call L back and tell her what I've found out. It agrees with what she found out, and she'll come and get me in the morning.

Off outside and wait for the van, one minute later I'm checking in wondering if they're going to ask me where my kitty litter pan is and what I'll say if they do. Nobody asks, I get to the room and open the can of Gravy Lovers Fancy Feast I brought in case I didn't leave any at the house last year. Sweet Pea not interested. Fill the ice bucket with water, place on floor. Sweet Pea not interested. Open the bottom drawer of one of the bedside tables, tear up a copy of New York Magazine and place Sweet Pea inside the open drawer.  Immediately jumps out. Think the small drawer might be too confining. Open the bottom one of the larger chest of drawers, move the torn up pieces of paper into it, repeat the Sweet Pea process all the way through to his jumping out. Put the pieces of paper in the bathroom sink, ditto ditto ditto. Have a light bulb moment and take the top off the toilet tank, up-end it on the floor, repeat, repeat repeat except this time Sweet Pea retires under the bed in disgust. Decide he'll go when he wants to go and retire to bed with the New Yorker.




21 May, 2011

Quick, Before the World Ends

On the off-chance someone reads this in the next seven hours, here's a quick wrap-up of the past couple of weeks:

Tuesday, May 10, Mars conjunct Venus:
Took Star Child, her bottom half tastefully enclosed in a trash bag because it was raining and Amah insists we don't need a rain cover for the stroller (but wants a cup holder on the handle for her Starbucks), to the Collins Branch for sing-along and invited P and Baby T over to 326 afterwards as there was no way I was about to sit in the playground getting wet. Had Digestive biscuits and some of the dark chocolate Easter Egg I brought back from the UK. When P and Baby T left had more Digestive biscuits and more Easter Egg.

 That evening, Amah, obviously under the influence of some mind-altering transit that I didn't bother to check in case it ended, suggested we order in pizza from Friendly Corner, who make not the Cambridge Special Ten-Grain Including Wheat Berries Organic Heart-Healthy Wafer-Thin Crust with Six Imported Cheeses each from a Different European Country and Locally-Grown Fiddle-Head Ferns with No Tomato Sauce that you have to order whole but the good old New York store-front pizza shop by-the-slice if you want it that way doughy crust with way too much cheese and home-made tomato sauce kind, which had me lunging for the phone immediately before she could return to her *normal* self and we had salad again. We both had three slices.

However, today, Saturday May 21, as I'm in New York for 24 hours supposedly gathering up anything I might need for the next three months to take back to Cambridge before I leave for Silver next Friday, with Mars fast approaching a square to Pluto I had better get on with it and forget about transits of the last two weeks.

Of course, if Mr. Camping (can that POSSIBLY be his real name?) is right, there's not much point in doing anything and I may as well go out and get a six-pack and read the Daily Mail till six o'clock. It's tempting to check his natal chart and see if he is or isn't totally delusional, but Mars/Pluto is winning out. July 19, 1921, is the date, if anyone wants to do it for me, but hurry up. You might have only six hours and 57 minutes to get back to me.

10 May, 2011

Jupiter trine Sun, Sun square Moon

So after living in Cambridge for five months, Jupiter trine Sun day was when I decided to get my senior Charlie Card so I can stop paying $2 every time I get on a bus or train. At 3:45 I dropped Star Child off at Ahma's office and went on to Harvard Square to take the T to Copley, which is where Google Maps had told me 145 Wisconsin was. P (fellow babysitter I met at sing-along) had told me the Senior Pass place was at Back Bay Station, but knowing Boston as well as I do (she's only lived here for 20 years) I told her no, it was at Copley now and she'd said Oh well, it must have moved then.

So I get to Harvard Square to get on the T to go to Copley and this little bell starts going off in my head - why do I think I should be going to Copley when P says it's at Back Bay? Get out the letter the Transit Authority sent me when I applied for the wrong card and see that the envelope says Back Bay Station 145 Dartmouth Street and decide I'll go to Back Bay Station instead. Change at the right place - impressed with the T, color coded like the tube and easy to use once you've figured out what's inbound and what's outbound - get to Back Bay Station, go outside and start looking for #145. Relieved to see I'm right on Dartmouth and bear off left to see what's the first street number I come to. Some great big hotel, #135 or something, keep going, come to a restaurant at #120-something, realize I'm going the wrong way, make a 180 degree turn and head back to and past Back Bay Station.

First street number I find past the station is 150-something, number after that is 150-something higher. Retrace steps to the station and there appears to be no #145. Another bell goes off in head. Could it be return address on envelope says Back Bay Station 145 Dartmouth Street because the Senior Pass Office is IN Back Bay Station? Thank my lucky stars I do not have to look for work as I am obviously not capable of more than babysitting and writing plays, go back into the station, ask someone wearing an orange vest where the Senior Pass Office is, follow his outstretched arm to a sign saying Senior Pass Office with an arrow pointing to the left, slink into the office and get my pass in ten minutes.

No need to dwell on my getting to the turnstile and repeatedly putting the card in the slot, as I have every other time I've taken the T, only to have it spat out four times in a row as I wait for the gates to open as they used do. Finally notice a glowing green light next to the slot for paper tickets, third bell of the day goes off, touch new card to glowing green light, doors open, LED display tells me I have $14.40 left and am admitted to the T to take the train back to Harvard Square. Piece o'cake.

06 May, 2011

Venus sextile Moon, Mars conjunct Mercury

So at 5:58 pm I go downstairs, having just managed to make my bed for the day, open a beer and see that at 5:50 pm this is one of the finest influences for relaxing and enjoying myself because I probably won't feel like working. With no effort whatsoever I can think of many days in the past when I didn't feel like working and it had nothing to do with Venus sextiling the Moon, but that's another story. I did work today -  three hours at the playground on Cambridge Common on the most glorious day we've had so far this year - but the verdict's still out on whether or not that counts as work.

Mars conjunct Mercury had me calling the post office in New York early this morning to try to find out why my mail forwarding order hadn't gone into effect and ending up none the wiser after a conversation with the mail carrier for my building whose first language is of Asian provenance and who would appear not to have a second. I also called Qwest and had all the calling *features* I put on last fall for the house-sitters removed, thus saving $20 a month, and went down $10 a month on cable. Tried another chat with Comcast as we're still getting the "This channel should be available in a moment" message and came to a brick wall when today's chat person wanted exact amount and date of last payment made, which of course I don't know as I'm not Ahma. Having made a note of the last four digits of her SS number, today I was told SS numbers are not part of a client's profile.

Another email from gone missing house sitter and fortunately for her Venus sextile Moon took over again ( "You will find it difficult to feel anger and resentment against anyone") so said my piece and let it go. I am not the slightest bit concerned that nine years of landscaping and plantings is shriveling by the second as I type and my mail is being shuttled around somewhere between here and El Paso.

And in spite of being supposed to stay home and let others come to me (!!!!!), Ahma, Star Child, Big T and me went to Kathmandu Spice for dinner. Instead of joining in the consensus process we usually do to choose from the menu, I took one look, threw it down on the table and said "I'm having the Nepalese Special. You choose the rest, I can't make any decisions." "You just did," said Big T. Nice mix.

Venus to Sun...

... yesterday, but trumped by Mars to Mercury later today. Yes, it was a pleasant enough day and I ate too much peanut butter for lunch, but when the telly didn't work when we wanted to watch Jon Stewart I did what I've been threatening to do for months and called Comcast. Much pressing of ones and twos and repeating menus because none of them covered what I wanted, but ended up supposedly having a signal sent to reboot the cable box and let us watch Jeopardy.

It didn't happen, and I got myself on to the Comcast chat helpline, pretending to be Ahma and having to ask her for account number, last four digits of SS number, what she had for breakfast three weeks ago etc. Had to enlist Ahma's help for finding cable box serial number and have her say what I was thinking: Don't they know all this stuff? They don't, presumably, but they can tell you where to look to find it.

Stupidly agreed to troubleshoot and did as requested - turn off power for box, unplug, take cable from wall and from cable box, reverse it so that wall end went into box and box end went into wall, plug box back in and turn on again. No result. Began to get very annoyed with poor Teresa at the other end who kept telling me she knew how inconvenient it was for me and how much she appreciated my patience but persevered and watched while she told me she'd detected an error in the box and would send it a signal to reboot itself and solve the problem.

Told her I'd already called in the problem and supposedly that was happening already. Was told she had no notation of my call. Kept my fingers off the keyboard while I counted to ten and told her whether she had a notation of it or not, I had called and a signal had supposedly already been sent. Watched while she told me it would take 30 minutes, told her it had already been much more than 30 minutes and then decided enough was enough and I'd see if we got any of the missing channels back and *chat* again today when Mars will be even closer to Mercury. Over and out, and thank you for your patience.

04 May, 2011

Mars Square Midheaven, Mercury Conjunct Sun

This has to be the first day in more time than I care to look back on and check that I'm posting an aspect on the day it occurs, but then with Mercury conjunct the Sun in two and a half hours time, why would I be surprised? Perhaps when Mars conjuncts Mercury on Friday I'll write this up a week in advance ha ha.

Okay. Taking Mars square Midheaven in the context of my life at the moment,  the manifestation was the doorbell ringing (never happens) right after Star Child went to sleep and me thinking it was my new cell phone (old one soaked in Nyquil for four hours on the way to Baltimore last weekend, don't ask) and it was a delivery guy from a local florist handing me a huge potted gardenia for Ahma for Mothers' Day. An hour later the doorbell rang again and this time it was my new cell phone so I had to go down the two flights of stairs twice in one day and make an appearance on the front porch - definitely Mars (action) square the Midheaven (front porch). (Hey, I SAID it was in the context of my life at the moment.)

As for Mercury conjunct the Sun, I'm writing this close to the time it perfects, and for the first time in months am up to date. Enough said, unless I go into remembering how I felt a year ago today when Anonymous contacted me after 45 years, and I'm not going to.

Chiron Trine Saturn

According to astrodienst which I've linked to so many times I'm not going to do it any more the recognition of my own limitations can now give me a natural authority which helps me be more adept when dealing with others (aspect perfected yesterday), so that must be why when I asked Star Child to put her toys away this morning because we were going to sing-along and she said "Go away" I said "Fine then, I'll go by myself" and went off down the stairs.

How on earth do you sort out the effects of this from all the other influences swirling around? Neptune sextile Venus - "It Can Be Real." What can? Me taking care of this gorgeous child is true love when every other other time I've thought I was in love it wasn't real? (Not that I can really argue with that, but what about taking care of her mother?) Progressed Midheaven opposing Natal Chiron? Is it tied in with the trine to Saturn and that's why nothing truly horrendous has happened, or have there been nasty goings-on that I don't even realize are nasty because of the medication I'm on?

If I weren't on medication, would I more be upset because the tenants who were supposed to move in to the house in Silver and water my garden have disappeared, or is it the recognition of my own limitations that's helping me understand (grudgingly) there's nothing I can do about nine years of gardening shriveling up and dying because I'm 2,000 miles away?

Alert the Media: Silver City, NM: One-of-a-Kind remodel on six secluded acres close to town for sale by owner.

03 May, 2011

Sun Sextile Mars

This was two days ago, Sunday. My second weekend  back, first one in Cambridge as we went en masse to Baltimore last weekend, so to have Saturday afternoon and the whole of Sunday to myself while mother and child were at a friend's was heaven.

My Jupiter in Virgo came to the fore and on Saturday I made my best attempt yet at organizing my hallway cum sleeping space, putting all winter clothes in one of the drawers under the bed and making a bit more room for myself in the closet by putting all the stuff on the top shelf into Whole Foods bags and giving myself a good two feet of space.

Sunday morning - Sun sextile Mars exact - remembered I was a playwright and spent a lot of time online researching submission requirements and deadlines for any UK theaters I could find that might be interested in the kind of stuff I write, came up with several, made a list and astonished myself by sending Just For You off immediately. The aspect perfected by 1:30 pm and I switched to watching Law and Order Special Victims' Unit reruns and putting new elastic in two skirts, but hey, it's a start.

02 May, 2011

Forget About Catching Up - I GIVE Up

Already I've been back from my travels for two weeks and am in full story time, sing-along and playground mode, now with the addition of a tricycle into the mix. The weather has finally begun to change, green is appearing on the trees and there are flowers and blooming shrubs in almost every front yard.

Jupiter to the Sun, my birthday present this year, is over and he's now on the way to Mercury, and if I had my midpoint book here I'd look up what it means to have Jupiter at the midpoint of those two symbols, although why I have to look it up when here I am tapping away at the keyboard and trying to fill in some of the details of the past three weeks I don't know.

So - Jupiter to the Sun had me in England after a week in Spain with my two sisters for the, er, UK premiere of Soldiering On, which was overshadowed slightly in the media by the running of the Grand National in the afternoon. Having seen a rehearsal three days before and been slightly horrified, the only thing to do was put money on State of Play, and thanks to a savvier punter than me I did it each way instead of to win. Don't ask me what that means but the horse came in fourth and I won 46 pounds. This success was followed by winning the raffle at the theatre - a bottle of red wine I promptly gave to my nephew - and then a enthusiastic reception for the play, although of course I have a feeling that ANYTHING that followed Duck Variations would get a rapturous reception. (Lightbulb moment - that description of what I did with the bottle of red wine sets off a little bell in my head, so apologies if I've said it before. Perhaps all of this is repetition and I should stop right now.)

What isn't repetition is that Saturn was square my natal nodes for the duration of this holiday, and I found myself copyediting for four days of the vacation while staying with my family, natal nodes of course in Cancer and Capricorn. Enough - Star Child needs dinner.