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...