Still in Las Vegas

Just a quick post to let you all know that I am still here in Las Vegas (I was supposed to be back at work today) and won’t be coming back to NYC until Sunday… a few things came up and I needed to change my flight so that I could stay a few more days to help out … the Overoye Family left this morning so I’m feeling a little sad about not having any more smooshies around to cuddle with … Santa was very good to all of us (tons of great toys for the kiddies and adults) and having the whole family here was so fantastic – we all don’t get to see each other very often and so when we can all be together, we have a lot of fun – I’ll post some pics as soon as I get back to NYC… Happy New Year by the way! And we do have Monday off right? I feel like I’ve been gone forever and totally out of the loop, but that’s a good thing because I was seriously stressed out, not feeling healthy (mentally and physically) before I left (and most of this year actually) and now I feel a lot stronger, a lot better so that’s a good thing, as Martha would say.

Busy Bee, Busy Me

So almost Merry Xmas! Sorry to all who have been breathlessly awaiting news of my safe arrival here in Las Vegas...yes! I am here...I had a c'est le top flight on JetBlue, my new favorite airline - they give you the whole can of soda, have real snacks (not those little bags of pretzels) and lots of leg room and good seats that don't hurt your butt after sitting on them for 5 hours ... best of all, they have the little tvs on the seat in front of you with Direct TV so I got to watch VH1 classic the whole way here and saw all these great super cheezy videos from the 80's... it put me in the best mood, because I was laughing so hard at some of these songs and bands that I thought were sooooo cool when I was young...or some I didn't like as a kid, but I got a kick out of seeing the funky hair and the overthetop clothing - like Mr. Mister? Oh the big sweaters, the big shoulder pads in the jackets, etc...one of the worst was Roxette "Joyride"...oh my god, were they awful!!
But enough of my schilling for JetBlue...on Sunday, Mom and I went Xmas shopping and then Daddy fixed an awesome grilled shrimp dinner and made great Pumpkin Smash martinis for us...super yummy, like a really good eggnog, but better,stronger... Monday was Daddy-time: every year, Daddy and I spend the day together as he needs help picking out presents for Mom and we go around to all the shops all day... I think we got her a lot of good stuff this year, I hope she likes what we bought.... if not, she'll at least be polite and nod her head and smile and say "nice".
On Tuesday, the Overoye's arrived and I was so excited to see my smooshies, Allie and Jacob... and playing with them is basically all I've been up to since then! So far, we've been to the park, Roberto's taco shop for the best Mexican food in town, we went to a chocolate factory and got some free chocolate, to the Magical Forest where we saw Santa and rode a train to the North Pole, and last night we made cookies and decorated them while watching Rudolph's Shiny New Year... as my sister and I were making the frosting for the cookies and both kids were all excited to get the different colors and start decorating, we asked each other "when did we get to be the adults? Shouldn't we still be sitting at the table, all anxious to begin and Grandma Max and Mom be up here with the food coloring and drinking wine and getting silly?" but here we are, doing exactly what they did for us 30 years ago... and still acting like little kids and loving every bit of it ... today, we are off to the Natural History Museum...and that is all for now!
Glad to hear the strike is over by the way! I was worried it would still be ongoing when I got back and then you know, I would have just called in sick...why am I going to make an extra effort to get into work? Speaking of work here is a link for you all to check out...I think most of my loyal readers will appreciate this and relate to it: http://www.hallmark.com/wcsstore/HallmarkStore/images/products/ecards/nfg1969.swf

P.S

I'm supposed to make a correction:

Zeusapollo is not lovely, he is raw and tough! He is from the streets with mad skillz.

"I make big money
I drive big cars
Everybody know me
It’s like I’m a movie star!"

No Strike...YET

I woke up this morning to good news...I could go back to sleep for another 2 hours! I had to wake up at 6 because if the transit strike was on, I had to meet someone for carpooling at 7am... this was a big pain for me because normally, I don't get up until 8-8:15... and since this is my last day before going home for Xmas, I didn't want to have to be bothered by all the pains of NO SUBWAYS! So hopefully this will be resolved, I don't wish a transit strike on anyone...basically, CEO's and executives need to not be so greedy and union workers have to realize that they can't get ALL of their demands met, just because they have the ability to strike and perform poorly on the job to try and get their way..there has to be some middle ground, and BOTH sides need to find it.

On a happier note, last night was the annual ZeusApollo/FrodoPurpleFairy Christmas Gift Exchange Extravaganza....and it was Le Cool...Zeus met me in my neighborhood after work where we had Argentinian food and sangria and I got a super cool cookie making set with 3 different kinds of expensive vanillas and a super sweet card as well... then we bought cookie dough, went back to my apt. and made cookies and watched the last part of Lord of the Rings The Return of the King. and looked at the cool Johnny Cash book I gave him...I, of course, acted out the part of superwiener by wearing the crown I bought at the Renaissance faire throughout...does someone aspire to be Galadrial? Hmmm? ... hee hee...and that was that... all in all it was yet another lovely Christmas celebration and yet another example of the lovely boy that is ZeusApollo...you all should be so lucky to know such a person!
Tomorrow, I'm off to Las Vegas to see the family and I'm sooooo happy excited...talk to you all when I get there!

ooh and one exciting note: I bought myself an iPod Nano!! now that is LE COOL!

Mommie Dearest

I'm going to make sure I'm home before 8:30 because that is when Mommie Dearest is going to be on Oxygen (ch.61). I love this movie, it's got a lot of great quotes and scenes that I like to repeat to my actual Mommie Dearest, The Juice Mother herself!

Tear down that BITCH of a bearing wall and put a window where it OUGHT to be

In the Pepsi Boardroom:
Don't fuck with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo

Christina: There's a liquor store to the right.
Joan: I should've know you'd know where to find the boys and the booze.

No... wire... hangers. What's wire hangers doing in this closet when I told you: no wire hangers EVER? I work and work 'till I'm half-dead, and I hear people saying, "She's getting old." And what do I get? A daughter... who cares as much about the beautiful dresses I give her... as she cares about me.

Yes, Mommie.
Joan: Yes, Mommie what?
Christina: Yes, Mommie Dearest.
Joan: When I told you to call me that, I wanted you to mean it.

Joan: TINA. Bring me the axe

It's just the kind of movie that makes me GRUNTLED!

Capital Punishment

I don't really want to get started on a debate about this, but I just wanted to write a bit about how I feel about capital punishment. I'm not really for it and I'm not really against it either. I'm very confused and can't really work it all out in my heart or head to be fervently on one side or the other. I can easily see myself on both sides of the argument. I don't think executions do anything positive, I don't think they make crimminals any more scared of committing crimes, I don't think you should answer violence with more violence and I don't know if it should be up to us to decide to take someone's life.

But I also know, in my heart of hearts, that if someone killed my father, I would want that person dead. I know it would pain me to no end to know that that person was still alive and breathing - yes, behind bars, but stil alive and his family can still speak to him and write to him and have him in their lives, while mine was taken from me. I know that killing the person who commits the crime could not bring him back and does not accomplish anything and yet, I still know this is how I would feel. So I refuse to make any moral call on this, because I understand both sides and I'm just leaving it as a gray area, a big puddle of goo as Magpie called my unresovled thoughts on this.

And please don't tell me I can't consider myself to be a liberal and not be anti-capital punishment either.... nothing burns me up like someone telling me I can't think what I want to think, or that in order to truly be considered liberal, I have to tout some company line - a true liberal is just that - liberal, meaning, I can think what I want, not what someone tells me is the " correct" way to think and feel.

Four Days and Counting...

Until I'm out of here!!! Woo HOO!!! I get into Las Vegas on Saturday afteroon, the Overoye Gang will get there on Tuesday I believe (Snow White, is this correct?) and then it will be one Full House...all we need is an Uncle Jesse and the stage will be set... so what else is happening you ask? Well, Friday, Floating Head, Magpie and I ate Thai food, had ginger mint martinis, and discussed the List. The List is Floating Head's invention and she has to be commended because this year, there were 12 things on her list and she accomplished 9 of them. WOW! That's why she's my hero, but she has inspired the rest of us to begin a List. The List can be anything you want, but its basically stuff that you want to do, have always wanted to do, but have not. Times-a-wasting, the years are passing you by and what do YOU have to show for it? That's what I say to myself all the time. And it's not necesarily resolutions, because those can be scary and you resolve to do certain things and then you stop for whatever reason and then you feel bad about yourself and this just drags you down further. No, the List is more about fun stuff, but stuff that can enhance your life. For instance, Floating Head wanted to go white water rafting this year, because it's something she's never done but always wanted to do. So, you know what she did? She found out where to do that around here (Pennsylvania), got a group together and did a one-day trip. List Item Accomplished! Or another item on her list is to visit a different foreign country each year. But, enough about her - what's on my list? Well, that's what I'm going to think about when I'm home...because it's all about how you make your life. I watched all 3 Lord of the Rings movies on Sunday night (which caused me to stay up until 3 a.m., the nutcase that I am so that I was dead tired yesterday) and even Gandalf knows this to be true - when Frodo says, "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had ever happened," and Gandalf replied, "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time we are given." Ah, the wisdom of the Lord of the Rings, they are really and truly my most favorite books and movies of all time, I can read those books over and over and see the movies over and over and I still get all excited at the end when the Witch King says, "You fool, no man can kill me" and Eowyn rips off her helmet: "I am no man" and stabs him ... and I still get teary when Frodo finally tosses Gollum over the edge and the Ring is gone and Aragon and Gandalf both get this look in their eyes because they know it has been done so there is relief, but it's immediately followed by sadness because they also realize that most likely, Frodo is dead...But I love the books so much because in college, I took a course called The Enchanted Imagination and we spent about 2 months studying the Lord of the Rings and was just an inspiring class with one the best, coolest, most creative and understanding (he let me turn in my papers when I wanted and usually gave me undeserving A's on them) professors (John Pagano) I've ever had and I just hold these books and that class very dear to my heart.

Someone out there is going to read this and think "W.A.W"!

By Order of the Court of Joanne Hoffman...

I shall post! But just a quickie for now, I wanted to show you my cute little Christmas tree I put up in my living room:























And to let you all know how happy I was to wake up on Sunday morning (sick though I was) to find snow in the garden below my bedroom window! Unfortunately, since I was feeling like rubbish and dizzy and sick to my stomach, I didn't get to walk around in it, which I love to do... but the winter has just started and so I'll get another chance..soon I hope...but here is the highly adored First Snow:

Christmas Decorations

Okay, here is where Magpie and I are going to differ: I love Christmas, this is my favorite time of the year, I love the carols and songs, even the corny ones, and I love the fact that they decorate so beautifully in the lobby of my office building. I just had to note that because when I came in this morning, I got all excited because they were starting to put up the evergreen swags and red ribbons and the lights and that means I'm only that much closer to going home for vacation...I love going home at Christmas too, my mom and dad do a beautiful job of the lights outside and the beautiful tree with all our old ornamenets like Pinky Tuscadero and the apple-face Santa, the old fashioned wooden Santas and angels everywhere and so much of Christmas brings back really wonderful childhood memories so it makes me happy for that reason...I always remember it as a lot of family members around, people sleeping everywhere (Grandma Max on a cot under the dining room table), my sister and I having to sleep in my parents bed and we wouldn't go to sleep, just giggle a lot, Daddy telling us there was a fat man on our roof, dressing up and going to church, opening one big present, one small present on Christmas Eve, and how everyone seemed happy (although looking back on it now, most likely they had a bit to drink!), waking up the next morning super early to see the Santa gifts that appeared magically, creamed eggs on toast for breakfast and playing with toys the rest of the day, not even bothering to get dressed ... so that's why I love Christmas decorations!

Postscript

To Joyce and Chuckie!!! I tried calling you yesterday but it was always busy, so I tried to wish you a "Happy Thanksgiving!" and a "GobbleGobble" but no such luck...so don't think I don't love you...I do!!!

Groggy Me

So I feel very out of it and tired today and yet I'm at work, and my boss is out, so of course, the day is turning out to be quite stressful...this always happens when he is out, somehow his problems become mine...usually when the boss is out, it's an easier day but this never seems to be...and I'm a little too out of it to deal with it all...this is most likely because when I left Thanksgiving dinner last night, there were 6 empty bottles and there were 6 of us at dinner..so you do the math! Yesterday was a good day, I baked my very special mixed berry pie from scratch, did laundry, got ready and bundled and off I went on Metro North for my Thanksgiving in Scarsdale...it started off with gluwein and little dumpling-like bites around the BBQ and then inside for lots of wine, really good stuffing (some would say "spicy") and three kinds of birds: a pheasant, a turkey, and a duck... plus the usual mashed potatoes, carrots and peas, and of course, the gravy. Then for dessert, Mr. G, Esq. brought an awesomely rich chocolate cake and then my berry pie and more wine and there you go... so basically I ate well, laughed a lot, and went home happy, and this rates up there in the top 2 Thanksgivings I've had since I've lived here (top spot belongs to my junior year of college and I went to this huge get-together with my friend Eve and her family and all of her suitemates)... so this is #2... Thanksgiving is always weird for me since I have no family here and even though I've spent quite a few of them by myself and it's not horrible, it's always nice to spend the day with good people, and for this, I am thankful.
Now tomorrow, I am meeting Magpie and Floating Head for a brunch and then off to Target (yes again...Choxie replenishing needed, plus I need a few Xmas odds and ends), then back to see Floating Head's new apartment where we shall toast her to a new beginning, since today is her last day and Monday, the new job begins...onward and upward to bigger and better things! And no more being jacked around by Potatoheads, Lord Helmuts, and Little Miss Snot Noses!

Happy Turkey Day!!

Hope everyone eats a lot and is happy and healthy.... I was going to make myself a big batch of green bean cassarole, but everytime I've tried to make it, it just doesn't taste as good as my mom's...so I think I'll wait until Christmas dinner and she can make it for me...plus having it only once a year makes it that much more special... the same goes for her grilled cheese sandwiches, it's only hers that taste soooooo good to me..although,there is a coffee shop around the block from my apartment and I had one there a few weeks ago - fantastic! They used rye bread instead of white, and oh the difference rye makes...Veronica, this is a lesson: you should always consult the Anthology of Bread before making sandwich decisions. So anyway, there is "Mom Food" Competition out there - look out Juicy! The other meal that my mom makes really well is biscuits and water...but that's a whole other story...

http://www.msn.americangreetings.com/view.pd?i=382219626&m=1652&rr=y&sou

My Uncle Jeff

My mother's brother, Jeff, passed away last week...I thought it would be nice for me to post his obituary, since it explains exactly the kind of person he was... I have a lot of happy childhood memories of spending holidays and family gatherings with Jeff, Beth, Jamie and Colby - like him building the house in Idaho next door to his while he and his partner shouted out to each other...how he used to scare me and Heather when he would call and disguise his voice...how he dressed up as Santa Claus at Grandma's house in the orchard... lots of summers in Sun Valley, lots of Christmases... Max's Aloha Tours in Kauai when he picked us up in a Rent-a-Wreck with no floor in the car...

JEFFREY TED LAWN. March 7, 1944 - November 9, 2005. How does one find the words to describe Jeff Lawn? Loving father and grandfather, genuine friend, skilled contractor, competitive golfer, table top dancer! For Jeff, life was a balance of hard work, of family and friends, worldwide adventures too numerous to count, lots of golf and lots of laughs. Laughter was inevitable when Jeff was around. His quick wit was truly a gift. Jeff passed away peacefully in his favorite chair at his Carmel Valley home. Jeffrey Teddy Lawn was born March 7, 1944 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Theodore and Maxine Lawn. He was the only boy of their four children. Jeff grew up in Minneapolis/St. Paul, attending St. Peters Grammar School in Richfield, MN and graduated from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, NV. He joined the U.S Army in the early 1960's and was honorably discharged in 1966. After leaving the Army, Jeff spent some years in Pacific Grove where he drove a truck for Del Monte Laundry. In 1968 he married his first wife Laura, and was blessed with his son Jason a year later. They lived with family in Las Vegas for a few years before Jeff eventually settled in Sun Valley, ID. During his 14 years there, he met and married Beth and became the proud father of his two daughters Jamie and Colby. In 1986, Jeff and his family moved to Carmel Valley where he developed his passion for building and remodeling homes. He also continued with his love of golf and could be found most days on the course perfecting his game. (And of course the 19th hole!) Jeff loved to sing his own renditions of songs by artists such as Frank Sinatra and Stevie Ray Vaughn. With his spirit of adventure and spontaneity, Jeff lived a full life within his 61 years. His parents, Maxine and Ted, preceded him in death. He is survived by his sisters Judy Whitehead, Joyce Swarts and Jill Lawn, his first wife Laura Lawn of Aptos and mother of his son Jason Lawn (Kezlee) of Scottsdale, AZ, former wife and friend, Beth Lawn of Carmel Valley, mother of his daughters, Jamie Peters (Blake) of Granite Bay, CA and Colby Lawn (Paul) of Portland, OR, grandsons Drake Lawn of Scottsdale, AZ and Noah Jeffrey Peters of Granite Bay, CA and many, many friends and relatives. He is deeply loved and will truly be missed! A Celebration of Jeff's life will be held at Carmel Valley Ranch Golf Club on Sunday December 4th, 2005 at 1:00p.m. All who knew and loved Jeff are welcome to attend! The family requests that any contributions in his name be made to the American Heart Association, 1514 Moffett St., Suite J, Salinas, CA 93905. Arrangements by The Paul Mortuary of Pacific Grove. Published in the Monterey Herald on 11/17/2005.

whassup?

Yeah, I know, I've probably lost the paltry few loyal readers I had (ah, most of them family members, but you know, at least that's something) ... I admit I've been a lazy blogger... well I've been busy, since I normally do this on my down time at work...and I haven't had any down time... to the point that yesterday, I was "sick". I was sick enough to have to stay home, rearrange furniture, sort and clean, read Book 3 of Harry Potter (since I will be seeing the Imax version of Book 4 on Saturday with Magpie and her sis, I felt the need to catch up ...I had only read Book 1 and refused to see the movies until I read the next books... but Magpie loves her Harry Potter and got me all caught up in the excitement and now I do believe I love Harry as well...not as much as Lord of the Rings, but still, very excited...) and I went to Target for Choxie... Choxie, for those not in the know, is this awesome Target-brand chocolat that is quite yummy that Magpie turned me on to - check it out at your local Tar-jay... especially the mint cookie crunch truffle - these taste just like Girl Scout Thin Mints!!! The box in my office is fading fast... tomorrow, I'm seeing Walk the Line, also with Magpie, because we need to kill time before joining Floating Head to toast to her birthday (today) at a bar in Chelsea... and then on the seventh day, I rest... maybe!
Speaking of chocolate, on Sunday, I met Magpie for brunch in Chelsea for a bagel and some lox and a mimosa and then off we went to the Chocolate Show... for 25 bucks, you got to sample all the gourmet, wonderful, delicious chocolate that you wanted, in many forms - truffles, bark, drinking, liquer, cookie, brownie..etc.. http://www.chocolateshow.com/home.php?titre=3&id_code=9&cat= as yummy as this was, we realized after about a hour and a half that we were done...tummies were hurting! The most delicious thing I sampled were these truffles from France - www.gustaux.com - awesome!!! I don't know where you can buy them here though...and my favorite man in the world was there, Jacques Torres, chocolatier extraordinaire.. www.mrchocolate.com he really is a chocolate genius... so I think that's it for me... I'm fooded out, liquored out (although I did buy myself a bottle of my Coppola chardonnay Daddy - 11.99 here on sale) and I'm really ready to go home for Christmas (the 17th of December) and get the hell away from here for awhile.
And speaking of Xmas, I will be seeing my smooshies... here are two new pics of them... don't you all want to smoosh them? I do!! And it's Allie's birthday next week - happy almost birthday!!























Jacob the Power Ranger, "power up - hah!" and Allie the Pretty Princess
























Two little monkeys in a tree...

The Busy Town of Chloride

Look, this sleepy Arizona town has had it's fourth visitor this year... Mom and Dad, does this look eerily familiar? She was driving past on her way back to Texas and HAD to stop for the picture ... where was she going without ever knowing the way?

Jeanine and Ozzy and creepy redfaced guy...Jeanine's hubby is in the right background, with the red and black jester-like outfit

Ozzy, eating the head of a baby

Drunk geisha girl..camera..too close..

Ozzy and BananaMan Bartender and a dominatrix...

spooky ladies...

Happy Halloween!

This holiday is actually over for me, as I already celebrated THOROUGHLY on Saturday night... in the words of my father last Christmas after a dinner party: "boy, was I shitfaced!". And so I was. My friend Jeanine and her husband love Halloween, were married on Halloween last year and every year, they have a big party... so there were a lot of great costumes, fun and silly people, and lots of alcohol... a bit too much maybe, but I had fun and laughed more than I've laughed in weeks, so I think it was worth the minor pain I was in yesterday... The Geisha Girl (as I was being referred to) was the bartender's (The Man in the Banana Suit) best customer... it was Japanese Girl Gone Wild - bending backwards over the bar to let them pour shots down my throat?? That's so NOT me.... but alas, I did it anyhow and had so much fun... what can I say, Ozzy and Banana Man were egging me on and as long as I was feeling good, I would take the shot ... there was a guy dressed as a keg and he could actually pump himself (no pun intended) and give out kamikaze shots from this nozzle connected to his head... we all fell asleep at about 3am and then woke up the next morning and went out for breakfast at a diner up the block and we all looked a little green... here are some shots for you:
Lucia, the devil in the red dress beckons....
Lucia and Brother Mark

Sister Tiffany, praying to the Patron Saint of Beer
A goblin!
Lucia, Shirley, Mark and Tiff

Poor Little Bloggie...

A sad, little, forgotten thing, is this blog..well not forgotten, I've been thinking of you fondly and wistfully...I've just been a combination of too tired, too stressed, and not really feeling like dealing with much of anything to chitchat and write stuff here...my birthday was wonderful, lots of good surprises and fun times...and that was sort of the last excitement that I had to write about... I've been a little down and out lately...I think because I've been so overwhelmed with work stuff, that it's gotten to me... because I know this year I've put me and myself and my REAL life to the side when it comes to work issues - if asked to stay late, I'll stay late. And it's mainly because I do enjoy a lot of this process, I'm learning a lot, I know this will help me in whatever future jobs I may have, it's really something of substance to have on a resume, something that before, I felt I was lacking...plus I think it's given me a lot of confidence in a way - I've been put through a lot of hard tasks and pressure-cooker moments and I've done pretty well at handling them if I do say so myself...all positive things, so please don't think I'm being a martyr, oh poor me, I have to work so hard!...it's always I choice I make and I don't typically feel like the people in charge here have taken advantage of me...but there needs to be some balance...I feel as though things are going by me in a blur and I'm not really appreciating what's happening...I get up, come here, get stressed, and go home so exhausted, I don't feel like doing anything and then I go to sleep only to wake up and do it all over again...and that's not a life. And I'm 32, I shouldn't be so exhausted at 32. (does anyone think I sound like Demi Moore in St. Elmo's Fire "I never thought I'd be so tired at 22"?)So, things need to change around here, that's all I'm getting at... Maybe they should start with me getting a cat... what do you all think? Here is a picture of Coco, also known as Professor Dumbledore, also known as Franz Ferdinand...














That's about all I have to say...oh and I got an office which is nice, it's nice to be able to listen to music louder than in a cubicle, I have privacy, I have a window, so I can see what the weather is instead of heading home only to step outside and realize it's snowing out...and I just don't feel as cramped I guess...a little more focused in here? I don't know... but I was also sad to leave Team Consipiracy Corner, my fellow lefties Vox and Magpie....but now we can hold Secret Meetings in here and have no fear our plots are being overheard and in danger of being foiled again... and I'm pleased Harriet Miers has "withdrawn" herself from consideration, the joke that her nomination was, the joke that this whole admininstration is...it pleases me to no end to see that maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel and God willing, Karl Rove will be indicted, Dick "the Dick" Cheney will be connected to the CIA leak, and maybe some holes will be poked in this phony, absurd group of so-called leaders...maybe... that would cheer me up... and it's getting chilly outside, so that means autumn is really here, my second favorite season, followed by winter, my all-time favorite season...so I can bundle up as I love to do in scarves and coats and gloves and be happy/chilly all at once... and soon it will snow, and then I'll be all smiles. Right?

Just wanted to complain...

I'M AT WORK.
IT'S A SUNDAY.
BAH HUMBUG.

but someone brought in doughnuts, doesn't that make it all better?

NO.

New Song Obsession

"Haiti" by Arcade Fire... you can listen to it here, just click on one of the radio blogs with this song listed ... http://www.radioblogclub.com/search/0/arcade_fire

Haiti, my country
Wounded mother I’ll never see
My family set me free
Throw my ashes into the sea
Mes cousins jamais neshantent les nuits de Duvalier.(My never-born cousins haunt the nights of Duvalier)
Rien n’arrete nos espirits. (Nothing stops our spirits)
Guns can’t kill what solders can’t see
In the forest we are hiding
Unmarked graves where flowers grow
Hear the soldiers angry yelling
In the river we will go
Tous les morts-nes forment une armee (All the stillborn form an army)
Soon we will reclaim the earth
All the tears and all the bodies
Bring about our second birth
Haiti, never free, don’t be scared to ring the bell (n’aie pas peur de sonner l’alarme)
Your kids are gone(Tes enfants sont partis)
In those days their blood was still warm

Happy Birthday (almost) To Me

Tomorrow is my birthday but the celebrations are starting already...like I got this supercool stuff from Veronica: a storybook in Hawaiian pidgin, which made me giggle when I tried to read it out loud, a book on Pele, the Volcano goddess ( some of you may know, I have a tattoo on my left shoulder that is a petroglyph of Ka'po, who is Pele's sister..she lives in a cave on Maui, which is where I had the tattoo done..see, it's the ultimate souvenir), and this wooden fish shaped piece from New Zealand that I think is called a patu - a Maori club? Veronica will have to verify!! And she sent me the violet candy and gum that I love and a Napoleon Dynamite keychain that cracks me up "I like your sleeves, they're really big". And, most of all, she bought me the Best of Bread...that's all I'm going to say, it's an inside joke and no further comment is needed. The only thing better would have been the Anthology of Bread...but Mother Swarts already owns that... hee hee...

Today, my boss and two coworkers gave me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers - it really is gorgeous, I've never received such a nice bouquet before (and I think I've only been given flowers 3 times before, so I think I know!) and Magpie gave me a whole box of Godiva chocolates, Floating Head crocheted a purple scarf for me, and Vox bought me a Blockheads Birthday Lunch (see "This Bird Has Flown" for the rapture that is "Blockhead's Friday's - she describes the feelings and anticipation of this day to a tee!) and it's just been a really lovely day. Now I'm about to go and meet Megan at a restaurant she and I have been meaning to try for a long time called Candela (mostly for it's gothic atmosphere) and then we are going to see a performance at Symphony Space by Sufjan Stevens, a singer that she loves and I'm just getting to know...I think I do like him...and it doesn't hurt that he is INCREDIBLY good-looking. Tomorrow I'm off to a joint birthday party my friend is having for all the October babies she knows and then Sunday, it's brunch with The Good Egg.

And...I was supposed to go to jury duty today, but I read the website wrong last night and never showed up...so I called them and said I was sick and they said I'd hear from them in another 4-6 months...DAMN!!

Jury Duty and Eyebrow Threading

Two other things I forgot to update you on...last week I had my eyebrows threaded for the first time...now I know this is not all that exciting, but it's the little things that make me happy and that was one of the coolest things I did last week...so you lay back in this chair, and the woman somehow holds this long thread in her teeth (I'm not sure what she did to me, I had my eyes closed the whole time) and uses it to yank the hairs out, perfectly shaping your eyebrows...and so quickly, it was done in about 3 minutes...7 bucks! Amazing! And it lasts up to 3 weeks! Thanks to Charlie, I have Brooke Shields type eyebrows and its a chore to have to pluck and pluck and pluck, everyday...Heather Joy Overoye knows what I mean, she's got them too - but hers aren't as bad as mine, I think mine are more of a handful...so anyway, it was a good thing to have done...I did get a little rash (my skin is so sensitive, I knew it would happen) but I think I will do it again...less work and stress for me.

Now the next thing is my continued anxiety about jury duty...I got a notice to be a telephone standby juror starting Sept. 30th so everyday, I have to call in after 5pm or check their website and see if I have to go to the courthouse the next day...now Floating Head told me I will only have to do this for a week and then it's over and you can't be called for jury duty for another 4 years and I hope she's right...I just have so much going on right now and I'm tired and the thought of having to do jury duty stresses me out more, it's one more thing to have to deal with...so far, I've been lucky and not called yet... so please, say a collective prayer for me NOT to serve!! Thank you!

One more cool photo I forgot to include from the day I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge...lovely day, yes? Look at that sky...

All These Things That I’ve Done

I'm obsessed with this song by the Killers, I can't stop listening to it...it's because I like the video so much, that's what hooked me...and I think the lead singer is cute...oh and they are from Las Vegas too, although that doesn't mean anything...and I like the lyrics...oh someone stop me from watching this video over and over and over again...

http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/killers_the/artist.jhtml

When there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more sun
One more sun
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on
I wanna stand up, I wanna let go
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't
I wanna shine on in the hearts of men
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand
Another head aches, another heart breaks
I'm so much older than I can take
And my affection, well it comes and goes
I need direction to perfection, no no no no
Help me out
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the back burner
You know you got to help me out
And when there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more sun
These changes ain't changing me
The cold-hearted boy I used to be
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the back burner
You know you got to help me out
You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier...
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the back burner
You know you got to help me out
You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the back burner
You're gonna bring yourself down, yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down
Over and out, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done
All these things that I've done(Time, truth, and hearts)
If you can hold on
If you can hold on

A birthday, a scary movie, and a festival

Just a few notes about the weekend...it was Frinee's birthday so I met her at Cabana on 61st and 3rd on Friday for some good seafood and mojitos...however, I will not be going back there, because the service was so awful and the host kept on telling the waiter and bus boys to ask us if we were done, even though we were still eating...very rude! So they've lost my business, which is fine, because in terms of Spanish food, there are better places out there...and it's too pricey, too small, and WAY too loud..and not really authentic anyway..Saturday I met Megan for a scary movie, the Exorcism of Emily Rose, which was actually very good - I like spooky movies; I do not like gore though...this was just the right amount of freakyspooky and the fact that it's based on a true story was enough to have me sleep on my couch that night, lights and TV on...and then I decided that I don't think I can watch scary movies anymore - I think about them too much afterwards and then the bad images stick in my head and I have nightmares. Don't even discuss the Ring with me...that movie stayed in my head for a LONG time...Then on Sunday, I met Lucia at the Cloisters for a medieval festival, which was kind of like a mini-Renaissance festival and really so cool...anyone who knows me knows how much I love all that fairy-magic wands-jousting-potions-knights and damsels kind of stuff, so you can imagine how happy I was...I just wish we could have gone earlier and spent more time there since we got there at 3 and it was over at 6...

I spy a princess...ah it's just Lucia!

Merlin at work....

EEK!! there's a bat flying around my kitchen...just something I picked up at the faire...

Lucia bought me the lovely "earwrap" at the faire...an early birthday gift!!


Farewell Lady Lucia!... hee hee...Megan, do you recognize where we are?

View of the George Washington Bridge from the street...right near where Megan used to live...

A New Toy for Charlie (not to be confused with a Bargain For Frances)

Does anyone remember that book by the way? I love that story... poor Frances, she just wanted to have the best tea set... anyway, my dad bought himself a fun new toy - digital binoculars that take photos! So here are some samples of his "work":

Is it the Loch Ness Monster? WRONG! just an elephant seal off the coast of California...or so we think :-\



Whew!, See, it really is a seal...look to the white bird in the middle of the pic and then below and to the right, you'll see a cute little head poking out of the water...

My weekend was right on "Target"...

so to speak...Friday night was a good night, I went to Target for 3 HOURS with Magpie and the Floating Head (they've both just moved into new apartments, or are about to) and so they have the fun job of buying all the stuff you need to clean, to decorate, etc....I love that part of moving...I just bought some fun stuff, such as a mouse pad with a calendar that you can write on, a throw for my couch (pink orange red..isn't that a cocteau twins song? yes, by golly it is...and I think a Rothko painting), new earphones (Zeusapollo will be happy about that, as they are cushiony and I no longer will have to JAM the earphones into his head with my grabby hands as he claims I'm wont to do) plus a yoga dvd (since I don't seem to be making any effort to go to the class at Integral...maybe at some point I'll try again...) and then we headed back to my neighborhood for some great Indian food and a bottle of wine at the Jackson Diner and had lots of laughs...Saturday was supposed to be brunch at Bubby's in Dumbo, but no one could go, so instead I met Lucia and we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, walked on the Promenade, through Brooklyn Heights, then over to Dumbo, to Jacques Torres (http://mrchocolate.com/) for the best chocolat in the world, ever, period, hands down and then to Bubby's for a pork chop with some asparagus and rosemary potatoes...very lovely, like a homecooked meal...then there is a place to sit right outside - the Brooklyn Bridge Park - funny strange, I've never seen it before - and you have the most perfect view of the city, so we sat there and ate some of the good chocolat and watched the sunset and then walked back over the bridge, up through Chinatown and that was that...



Me and Lucia on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade

Weird old warehouse in Dumbo...looks haunted, yes?

Dumbo - Manhattan Bridge

Sunset...perfect, right?

Bush on Vacation - this picture says it all...

someone had fun with Photoshop - this is hysterically funny... and yet sad at the same time because it reflects the truth of what's really going on in with this situation...the careless, heartless, soul-less attitude these horrible so-called leaders have taken in this horrific event

A self portrait...

Nicole-by-the-sea in Cayucos-by-the-Sea

Charlie's new beach house...a wee shack for his wee head...

Another morning walk...this time no fog 

The Cayucos pier, pre-dawn, from our patio 

View from the cliffs on our hike 

Charlie, scouting out what's at sea...any pirates? "Aye matey!" 

Me on the beach in Cambria 

Me and the sunset in Cambria 

Mom and Dad, drinking a mocha in Cambria