One lucky punk

News from home: Clint Eastwood’s new movie, “The Mule,” is being filmed in Augusta, Georgia, which apparently looks like Detroit in the post WWII era.

Here’s what Variety had to say about the movie:

[“The Mule]” is based on a 2014 New York Times Magazine feature by Sam Dolnick and follows Earl Stone (Eastwood), a man in his 80s who is broke, alone, and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive — easy enough. But unbeknownst to Earl, he’s signed on as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel, and also hit the radar of hard-charging DEA agent Colin Bates (Cooper).

http://variety.com/2018/film/news/bradley-cooper-clint-eastwood-the-mule-1202788236/

Since Clint Eastwood is 88, it’s possible it will be his last movie. It’s also Karen’s first. Yes, my aunt in Augusta is going to be an extra, playing a horticulturist at a meeting that the protagonist attends. She answered a casting call, and, being a gardener herself, is already being typecast.

Karen follows in the footsteps of her Golden retriever, Butter, who has appeared in print ads for Mahindra Retrievers: https://mahindrausa.com/sites/default/files/tractor/pdf/Mahindra_2018RetrieverBrochure_0218_LR_0.pdf (Butter is the blonde.)

I think it’s fantastic. I love Clint Eastwood’s movies (Coincidentally, I watched "Absolute Power" this week) and find it funny that Karen has yet another talent and another thing on her to-do list. Her scene will be in the opening part of the movie. I’ve no idea when it’s due out; she’s filming her part in June.

Here, I am not really counting the days but feel the departure date creeping close. I’ve been really busy over the weekends sightseeing but this particular one went off the rails.

I needed to work on Saturday morning and suggested 8 a.m. to start, which was readily agreed upon. The project wasn’t supposed to take long, so I had delusions of getting home around 11, stopping really quick at the street market and hitting the gym before returning to the area of the office and cooking for part of our security team. There’s one woman who’s done it on her own once a month forever, but this month we have some guests, so I offered to help. The plan was to get there at 3 p.m. and start frying chicken, eat around 5 p.m. I figured I’d be home around 7 p.m.

Well, nothing worked out. The contractors, whom I really didn’t think would be there at 8 a.m. but I figured around 9 a.m. for sure, arrived about 10:30, and the “couple of hours” project was still going at 3:30, but at that point someone else offered to take over, so I headed to the building to jump in with the cooking, but the coordinator wasn’t there yet.

Around 5:30, I was wondering if she really meant Sunday, but as the people to be fed assured me it was Saturday, she finally arrived – she’d been cooking the side dishes at the house and got behind. At that point, we thought we were ready, but then we had issues getting the cooker to work. The American propane connector, on the cooker, didn’t want to work with the Turkish gas tank, so we ran back for a turkey fryer, which took forever. Basically, I thought I was going to be home at 7 p.m. but we didn’t even start cooking the chicken until after that.

But when it was all said and done, the chicken was awesome; I brought an extra piece home for lunch. Cornbread too. Man, she thought of everything. Talk about feeling lucky!

Today, I’d planned on doing more sightseeing – I’m running out of weekends – but after getting home after 10 p.m and skipping the gym yesterday, I decided to just play homebody today. I hit the gym, pool and sauna, then took a short nap before pulling myself out of bed.

A friend is coming this weekend so I have to clean; I feel staying home was a smart move. I’m on the second load of laundry and have run to one store but the street market calls.

No real feel on what we’re going to do this weekend. This is one of those visitors who’s not so much in it as Istanbul as a destination but more of a “I need a peaceful break” kind of thing. There will undoubtedly be some sightseeing (I will use anyone/anything as an excuse to go to the Galata Tower area!) but for the most part, it’s going to be chillaxing by the pool – and possibly catching “Han Solo” at the theater. That, more than anything, would make my day.

Get moving

Get shopping at the Grand Bazaar

It’s a great time now in Istanbul – our movement restrictions got lifted, so we are free to move about the city. And man, what a city!

Coincidentally, a friend came to visit the weekend after we got the green light, so I was able to go and play tourist. We visited the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Galata Tower and the Grand Bazaar, plus this quirky place called “The Museum of Innocence.” Later, I hit up the Pera Museum and Topkapi Palace.

Istanbul is just amazing. There is so much to do here, and I really hope I can make a dent in the list before I leave post.

My big errand over the weekend was to take the rug I bought in Morocco to be fixed. I bought it used and it had been unraveling at one end since I got it. It was only around $25 or so, but it’s got sentimental value since it’s a Peace Corps acquisition.  I took it to the same rug guy whom I’ve bought three rugs from. He’s going to fix it and I have to pick it up next weekend. This means I get another run at the Grand Bazaar, too, which is awesome.

Galata Tower. My favorite area.

Since the rug is heavy and bulky as heck, I plan on that being the last thing I do on Saturday. That morning, I’m hoping to do a little Bosporus ferry “cruise.” It’s not a cruise in that it’s a touristy thing with booze or anything. Well, they have those, but I’m not doing that. Instead, there is a public ferry and it makes a good handful of stops after it departs the Sea of Marmara area and then finally finishes up at the mouth the Black Sea two hours later. I forget the name of the city – I reckon I’ll have to figure that out before I leave – but you’re there for a couple of hours before you head home on the ferry. You have time to either head up to the Rumeli Fortress or you can just wander around the little city and then have a great seafood lunch. I’ve done it before and am looking forward to doing it again.

I am just so lucky to be posted here. There are so many options, whether you stay in Istanbul, wander around Turkey or leave town. Hopefully, I can hang around town for the most part before I leave. It’s really mind boggling how much there is to see and do.

Look closely at the pattern.

My favorite area is the Karakoy area surrounding the Galata Tower. There’s a street that’s got some fun shopping, not entirely touristy, and it goes straight downhill to the bridge. I could walk up and down it all day long, although I learned after a couple trips that there’s what’s called a funicular that will take you up the hill and then you stroll down, looking at the music stores, leather places, funky clothing stores and all kinds of random stuff, and you can get freshly squeezed pineapple or pomegranate juice on the way. As far as I’m concerned, it’s paradise.

As is the whole city.