Blood Donation Overlooking Pandanus

 

Today I worked on campus for the first time in weeks. To my surprise, Seabird (who usually works remotely on Mondays) was also on campus, so we walked together at lunch. I also chatted with a couple of coworkers and a faculty member, and in the afternoon I gave blood. The room was called "Orchard View," and in fact you could see the plants below. Wish I'd thought to take a photo from up there, but here are a couple from ground level. The big plant is a pandanus, the same kind of plant used to make those pandan lattes I love so much.

As I was leaving the building, I heard a train and rushed to where I could see it. There were a number of cars with familiar graffiti, and one with a beautiful teal-colored "Truckster" that I had never seen before, but alas, I was too far away to get a photo. However, if God is talking to me in Train again, then He must be saying it was a good decision to work on campus today and give blood - I'm on the right track.

Travalon gave me a ride to work today and picked me up, and on the way home we saw a train about to take off in the rail yard. We both made videos, and here are a few screenshots from my video.

This train had a LOT of sausage cars, aka tankers.

If God is speaking to me in Train, maybe that one was assuring me that I made the right choice to skip Irish Fest Summer School this year.

And here are photos Travalon took yesterday from my future parking lot.

This is not graffiti, it's a 40th anniversary commemorative Wisconsin and Southern engine.

And here are a few from the spot off of Fair Oaks.

Maybe someday we will get a photo of "truckster" and the other cool graffiti I once saw on the way to Adoration which I have never seen again.

Famous Hat

Night Prayer Party 2026

 

This morning there was a terrible storm not long before we had to leave for Mass, so we waited a few extra minutes until it was just a gentle rain. My phone said we should take shelter immediately because a sudden storm could blow up at any moment, but we took a chance and drove to Mass, and everything was fine. By the time we drove downtown to meet Tiffy, the rain had stopped completely. We had lunch at Himali Chulo, then she headed home and we did too. Travalon rested while I finally got the screenshots from his video. You can see the graffiti is more elaborate than our local graffiti, and there are cartoons as well as words.

Check it out - it's Pikachu!

And here's a guy!

What is this? Santa Smiley Face?

These are a little harder to see, since they're lower so they're completely behind the fence, but some of them are too good not to share.

Afterwards we went to my future parking lot and the spot off Fair Oaks where there are train cars, and Travalon took some photos that I will share tomorrow. There are already enough photos on this post. Then we went to the Black-Owned Restaurant festival at the Labor Temple, where my favorite (Ker Fatou) had a tent so we got jollof and baobab shakes, and we found empty seats right by an old coworker of mine. Unfortunately we could not stay long, because I had band practice early tonight due to a party at the regular time. The party was because a Night Prayer regular who lives out of state was on his annual visit to Wisconsin, so a bunch of us showed up at the hosts' house with snacks. I brought Mandy, since I didn't want to leave her in the car, but nobody asked me to play her. We chatted until the host decreed that we would go around the circle and say our name and the highlight of our summer, so I said performing at the Fete de Marquette and Travalon said seeing Big Boy. I stuck around to do Night Prayer in person, which is so much better than online. It was great to see a guy I hadn't seen in decades, someone who used to go on those long bike rides we all used to do. He just retired - man, am I feeling old! I know it was years ago that we were burning up those bike trails, but are we that old already? Of course, a lot of the people at this party met at a prayer group that started when I was a toddler, so imagine how they feel. They were all nostalgic for a time that I couldn't have remembered even if I'd been there.

Famous Hat