Click

I just watched the movie Click. The movie stars Adam Sandler, it's kinda funny, kinda cute with a drastically unfunny turn at the end. I think everyone should rent the movie, especially at the beginning of a new year. It will certainly give you something to think about.

Happy New Year!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Tomorrow is one of my first well-deserved days off. I feel like I've been working non-stop, which isn't true, but it feels that way. I think I'm getting a cold which just compounds my desire to do nothing tomorrow but lay in bed with a good book.

I hope everyone's holiday was great and that Santa brought you everything you wanted. I got lots of great, useful gifts. Plus lots of lovely shiney things from NittanyBri. He's determined that I'm very easy to shop for since all he has to buy are shiney things. I did get one super-duper gift from NittanyBri, one of those gifts that comes in the little blue box from this place. We did lots of eating and drinking over the last couple of days. There's tons of left overs in the fridge. A full refrigerator is always a comforting feeling. At least we know we won't starve anytime soon!

The animals got something nifty too from NittanyBri. He got them their very own circulating, filtered water drinking fountain. But, they'd still much rather use the tub or the sink. Silly animals!

Sadly, one of my last remaining aunts had a stroke the day after Christmas. There's no hope of recovery. She is 87 and was not in bad health, so I can be thankful at least for that.

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Years. I'm not quite sure what we'll be doing on Sunday night. There are a couple of options. I hope this impending cold I feel coming on stays away at least until after the weekend. Have fun, stay safe and be happy for the new year!

Holiday Greetings

For those of you not on my mailing list, here's the picture we used for our Christmas card. It was somewhat entertaining taking this picture. One cat was hissing at the other, Jasmine back there on the fireplace mantle was trying to act like she didn't know us. No doubt they were a little annoyed that we made them wear silly shiney bows around their necks!

We hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas!

Mmmmm Food!

It has become quite apparent over the last several days that I have no concept of what day it really is. I have no idea when Christmas is either. I mean I know it's on the 25th but is that next week?!?

Over the holidays I've been working at a store that sells books and CD's and has been completely swamped with customers. This past Saturday was the worst I had seen it. And it was on Saturday that my lack of interest as to when exactly Christmas falls this year resulted in the uptight "older" customer to shriek at me "What day do you celebrate Christmas?!?" Surprisingly, I just left her make a complete fool of herself because the customer standing next to her remarked "Old people suck." Thank you dear customer whoever you were!

I've been trying to coordinate with my sister what kind of food we will be making for the holidays. This year I decided it would be nice to have a big meal on Christmas Eve and have a brunch on Christmas Day. So, we'll have the traditional fare on Christmas Eve consisting of stuffing, sweet potatoes with mini-marshmellows, cranberry salad, and some form of roast beast. I'm hoping my sister takes on all those dishes (hint, hint) so I can make the following:
Cheesy Spinach Squares
Fiesta Rolls (tortillas with cream cheese and hot peppers)
Texas Caviar (chick peas, corn, black eyed peas marinated in vinegar and sugar...delish!! It's Nitannybri's favorite!)
Spinach Dip (you know the kind that comes in a bread bowl)
Frittata of some sort
And maybe either my sticky buns or Michael from Smoke and Mirrors famous French Toast Casserole.
We'll also need lots of champagne for Mimosa's!

And, since I have no concept of time lately, I guess I better get to the grocery store for all this stuff!

This Is the End

I've cleaned out my notebooks, I've taken the last of the tests, all the papers have been turned in and all the library books have been returned to the library. As of 10:30 a.m. today I officially start my semester break!! WHOO HOO!!

I am so relieved and thankful to be done and one semester closer to graduation.

I have had a fairly easy finals week. I only had two finals to start with. My other two classes only required a final paper to be completed, no tests. The first of my finals was last Friday, my other final was today.

Tomorrow I have absolutely nothing, I repeat nothing on my calendar. Nothing to study for, no papers to write, no homework, and no work, work either. I plan on sleeping in or at least taking a nap and enjoying the abundant sunshine and near 60 degree temperatures. Anyone want to do lunch?

Christmas Memories

As always the holidays get here too quickly and then in the flurry of activity they are over. Again this year, I haven't had the chance to decorate because of school and work and frankly I just don't have energy to dig all the crap out just to have to put it away again. We haven't even had the chance to do our Christmas cards yet which I hope we get to do this weekend.

I miss having a real Christmas tree in the house, but I do not miss having sappy cats walking around smelling curiously of pine with the tell-tale broken Christmas balls laying underneath the tree. I do have the holiday music in the CD player and that usually puts me into the holiday spirit.

Lass just got her tree up and it got me to thinking about all the things that are cherished Christmas memories for me. Perhaps they are memories for you as well.

When I was a kid, we always went to my Aunt Emily's house for the holiday weekend. She lived about an hour and a half away which gave my dad and I a lot of time to sing Christmas Carols in the car as much as possible. (This happened even in the middle of July.) My mom particularly loved when my dad sang, because he couldn't carry a note and she was an excellent singer. My nephew seems to have gotten my fathers inability to sing on key. Away in a Manger is a song that always reminds me of my father. Maybe we sang that one the most.

By the time we got to my aunts, she had her place decorated from top to bottom. She always had lots of colored holiday lights especially the old fashioned kind that bubbled when they got heated up. She had one of those ceramic trees painted white that had the plastic colored "balls" that would light up when you put a light bulb underneath. No one decorated like she did!

We decorated at my house too and we usually had a real tree my dad did the lights and I usually got to decorate. We had a handmade manger scene that always went under the tree. After I was done doing the decorating my dad would always say, "that's the most beautiful tree ever."

As I got older, we didn't go to my aunts as much as we had when I was kid. We would usually have Christmas dinner at my sisters with my sister's in laws. There was always tons of food, cookies and presents.

Sadly most of my family is gone so the big family gatherings don't happen anymore. But, as with any family, you make new memories as the years pass. This holiday I'll be making new memories as I join NittanyBri and his family and he joins mine. My nephew will be home from college in time for the holidays but will be leaving shortly afterwards for Fort Lauderdale which is completely not fair!

A Bittersweet Celebration

Today I am thrilled for a friend of mine. She's been somewhat of a "quiet" artist for a long time. She's been taking lessons for a while at various art associations and has really developed her skills. I actually had the pleasure of being a model in one of her classes from which she drew a really lovely pastel of me, had it matted and framed and gave it to me. It's huge!

Today she is celebrating the opening of a show of hers at a local library. These works are water colors, pastels, etc. There will be wine and cheese, served by some of Wanda's friends.

The picture below is the invitation to the opening today and that is one of her water colors. Sadly, she had to put her own cat to sleep yesterday. Hopefully it doesn't dampen her spirits for this really exciting thing that's happening in her artistic career.

R.I.P. "Boomer"

Just Me and My Shadow

Under Pressure

For those that know me know I do not like this time of year for various reasons two of those reasons are that it gets dark too early, and it's cold.

However, this time of the year brings some good things too. First and foremost, it's the last week of classes, end of the semester, fini, ende, kaput! I did my presentation last night from my independent study so that is all done. Thanks Nittanybri and Dean for being there for me! The rest of my audience was made up of three Art professors...no pressure!

Tomorrow I hand in one of my last Ethics papers. Friday is my final in Sociology. That leaves next week which is finals week. I will only have one final next week in Art History and I have the final Ethics paper to turn in. Then I'm really done. This week will be the most difficult. But it's already Tuesday!!

My Debut

Tonight I am going to be doing a presentation at school based on my semester-long study of the concepts of the female and notions of power in African art.

I created my Power Point presentation, put flyers around at school, emails were sent out to potentially interested individuals. I wasn't nervous till now. I shouldn't be nervous. I'm used to getting up in front of people and talking. There will be professors there from the art/art history department, my advisor-the most intelligent woman I know. ACK!

I will have my cheering section with me....Nittanybri and Dean. Thanks guys!!

The Job I Should Never Have

Today I took Lester (my cat) to the vet for his weekly fluid injections. This seems to have been keeping him in relatively good shape considering his purported grave condition. You may remember that Labor Day weekend I was told that he should be put to sleep because he was in kidney failure. He's still in kidney failure, that will not get any better. But, he's still eating and "supervising" because he is the king of everything and he has been maintaining his weight over the last few weeks. Thanksgiving turkey left overs certainly didn't go to waste. I don't think any creature in my house had more turkey than Lester. He's coo-coo for turkey!

Soon after I got into the vet's office, I was waiting for the tech to come pick up Lester and take him back for his fluids when I heard it. The sobbing. From a little boy. I looked over and saw him with his head peeked back around the corner into the exam room. He turned around and rubbed his eyes, then came dad, then came mom who had also obviously been crying. It soon became apparent that these people had just put an animal to sleep, which then resulted in the tears pouring down my face. This is the second week in a row that and animal was being or had been put down when I was there. I can usually keep it somewhat together until I get out to the car and then I cry all the way home. Now we know what job I should never have!

Hollywood Nights

Tonight is the student government winter formal for the school I go to. I got a pretty "little black" dress from Macy's a couple of weeks ago for the occasion. So, we'll get all dressed up, have dinner and drinks, dancing etc. The theme this year is A Night in Hollywood. All the tables are named for movies. The table we're sitting at? Breakfast at Tiffany's of course!!!

I'm a little apprehensive about the event since there is such a huge age gap between me and the "usual" students that will be there. I'm sure it will be fun, could even get interesting in that there will be alcohol for those over 21. Everyone might end up naked in the pool, and wouldn't that be fun?!?!

Bad Boys Get Spanked

The Who/Pretenders show was fabulous! Roger and Pete still rock. And it's darned endearing to watch the 60 + year old men in the audience pretend they are Pete Townsend by playing air guitar. Silly boys, all the girls are in love with Roger Daltrey. Who, by the way, is still a hottie!!

Chrissy Hynde still rocks and she'll kick your butt if you need it. Oh yea, she tried to steal my boyfriend too. Read the story here.

Carnealian's Big 80's Weekend

As you all know, I celebrated a big birthday weekend, and it was celebrated in big fashion (unbeknownst to me prior to this weekend.)

Friday night started out when Dean and company came out with my friend Stacey and Nittanybri and I to see The Sharks. This band was a really big deal around here in the 80's. They played our dances, our proms and were even part of the MTV 80's video generation. I dug out my Go-Go's concert t-shirt from their 1985 Vacation tour and wore that in honor of the event. Prior to leaving for the show, I did finally open my little blue box. Yep, it was definitely Tiffany's. I got a lovely sterling "Return to Tiffany's" bracelet with my initials engraved on the back. Yea, it's never coming off my wrist!!

After only a couple of hours of sleep from the night before, I was up and at 'em again by noon on Saturday thanks to some prodding from my other friend Stacy who was coming to pick me up promptly at 1:00 to take me to book club. It was from there that we all were going out for dinner to celebrate my birthday. Or so I thought.

I had some difficulty trying to find something to wear, my hair wasn't doing what I wanted it to and I just wanted to take a nap. But, "Herr Commendant" got me dressed and into the car for book club. We met at our usual location in a neighborhood bar in Harrisburg. We had lunch and a few drinks and briefly discussed the book.

I knew everything that I thought was supposed to happen was falling apart at the seams when Stacy came up to me and said I had to go outside. Everyone got up from the table and made me cover my eyes. When I got to where they were leading me and was allowed to look, there in front of me was a white limosine. I thought we were all going to pile in and go where ever. But in the limo was Nittanybri holding up a dress I had just bought for some upcoming Christmas parties and shoes which I was instructed to go put on. So, back into the bar for a quick wardrobe change, then I was wisked away in the limo. Now, I love surprises, but I was a nervous wreck. Nittanybri was dressed in a very fashionable suit with a pretty pink t-shirt underneath, shoes and no socks. I was presented with a beautiful wrist corsage and some champagne all that was waiting for me in the limo.

We drove around Harrisburg for a bit, enjoying the sunset over the river, drove through nearby Hershey and then I was instructed that I had to put on a blindfold. Now, I'm really nervous. We get to our final destination and when the car stopped, I was told to get out. And when my blindfold was taken off there I was in front of my house with all my friends and family standing in front of me in tuxedo's and evening dresses. Saturday night was the prom I never went to in high school!! Since my prom would have been in 1984, everything that night was 80's themed including Nittanybri's outfit- it was straight out of Miami Vice!

All the time we spent at book club and driving around in the lap of luxury in the limo was giving "the staff" at home and my friends time to get into their prom outfits. The stereo played nothing but 80's music all night. We had tons of homemade food (all vegetarian I might add!) and lots of festive beverages. The food table had matching plates, table cloth and cups all of which were in my class colors, with a centerpiece of my class flowers, white roses and baby's breath. My class motto was printed out and there were even pom-poms in my school colors. There was even an attempt to get the Luv Gods to play at my party. They are a reincarnation of the band we saw Friday night. After the party started winding down, there were the few, the proud, the determined to stay up later than ever before. We plopped on the couch and what movie was just ending? The Wedding Singer! What movie was just about to come on? Fast Times at Ridgemont High! There was no way were not watching either of these!!

Apparently, this covert operation has been in the works for some time now. All of my friends and family played some part in making this a most wonderful birthday. Nittanybri really knows how to make a girl feel special. I am very loved!! And thanks to everyone who helped and was there for my special day!

The party isn't over yet. Tonight Nittanybri and I are going to see The Who and The Pretenders!

P.S. Party pictures to follow!

Four-Oh (my God)!

I Am Truly Blessed

And for that I am thankful. May your Thanksgiving be as richly blessed.


"O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen."
-Samuel Pugh

The Wonderful World of Sagittarians

I've waited for as long as I could. I can't take it any longer. My birthday, m'birthday, m'birthday's comin up! Whoo!!

So, in order to get the party started a little early, because the big day isn't until Friday, I thought I would let you all know a little bit about Sagittarians. Here's a few things about us that make us irresistible. We are: Daring, Fun-loving, Optomistic, Funny, and Evolving.

We are easily seduced..by humor, and outdoor sexcapades. According to AOL Horoscopes, the best "Head-for-bed" line to use on a Sagittarian is "If you were a chicken, you'd be impeccable." While that is cute, it's a little too corny for this Sagittarian's taste. I much prefer the line to use on a Scorpio (probably since I'm on the cusp of being one,) ""I'm an organ donor. Need anything?"

Other fabulous Sagittarians include: Tyra Banks, Brittney Spears, Katie Holmes, Kim Basinger, Tina Turner, Interstellar Lass, Julianne Moore, Jimmy Buffett (Jimmy, call me, we'll celebrate together!)

The party starts on Friday night. Party round two starts Saturday afternoon. My friends are acting very strangly, offering to make reservations for dinner, offering to pick me up, etc. I'm getting sort of nervous. But I love surprises so I'm enjoying every minute of this!! Oh and another surprise is from this guy. It came in the mail the other day and I happened to be there when he opened the shipping box. There was a smaller box on the inside. It was wrapped in pretty blue wrapping paper. It was strangely close to the shade of blue wrapping paper used by this place. Whoo hoo!!!! The most wonderful people in the world love me!

I'm Free!

Well, free for a little while anyway. Yesterday was my last day of classes until next Monday. I am working on summarizing the Sociology experiement you all helped me with. The basis of this experiement was based on General Social Survey's results from survey's performed in 1985 and again in 2004. Their results showed that the number of confidents a person has has decreased over the years, but that people are more willing to discuss important matter with a spouse or "kin" rather than "non-kin" such as a friend or coworker.

Each of my classmates surveyed five people just like I surveyed you. We compiled the results and found that in both my individual findings and the findings of the class that the people we surveyed had a bigger non-kin network that they confided in. So, our results do not match that of the GSS. I think this may be in part that most of these kids probably interviewed other college students who are away from home and rely on roomates or other classmates to confide in since parents aren't readily available.

I have a few other projects to work on over the semester break so I don't have to cram it all in at the end of the fast approaching semester end!

So, to start my first day off I decided to tear apart the bedroom. I wanted to take out the carpet under the bed which I did. I think carpeting is just another method of collecting dirt and dust. And holy cow was there a lot of dirt and dust under the carpet! I think I found a few old boyfriends in there! Now, I just have to put it all back together again. Then, it'll be on to homework.

I'm pretty much stuck at home all day, my car is in the shop today. Which of course will result in a really ugly repair bill. It's only money, I can make more, right???

Meet Me at the Met

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the day in New York City. I had to get up super early and get myself to school which is about 30 to 45 mins from my house. I was treated to a splendid sunrise. I did take a picture, but driving and snapping pictures usually results in blurry photos which it did this time.

I had a project to do for my Renaissance Art class. So, my day started at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in their Renaissance collection. We were to choose one painting or sculpture to write about. I chose The Allegory of Avarice.

This image is about a couple who stole money and of course as we all know, paybacks are a b^*ch!

There were two other exhibits I really wanted to see before I left. There was a collection of photographs from the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans. They were unbelievable! It's hard to imagine such devastation.

There was another called an American in Paris. This was a collection of paintings from American artists in Paris, like Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent. I discovered two very appropriate quotes out of this exhibit. One I have added beneath my title too my blog, because it was just too appropriate! The other was: "If I must go home soon, I hardly know what will take the place of my weekly visit to the Louvre - perhaps Patriotism." -John Twachtman 1885

After leaving the Met, the rest of the day was mine. So, I hopped aboard a downtown train to meet up with my poet-friend Susan Maurer. We were meeting at a place called The Dumpling Man which I had seen on the Food Network and just had to try. I had a couple veggie and shrimp dumplings, seared with the hot monster sauce on the side thankfully. That stuff was killer. Made me cough for a good 5 minutes. Whew!

This place is in the East Village so there's lots of fun vintage shops, art shops, etc. Here are some pics:

This is a great little punk shop called Trash and Vaudeville. This was the premier punk shop at least when I was in high school. There was even protocol for shopping in the store. I suppose it is still is pretty high on the list of punk shops still.

We found our way to Union Square park in the heart of NYU. Every Saturday there is a green market, or farmer's market type event. They had everything! In lieu of a Christmas card, Susan opted for the living gift called a broccoli something or other. Yes, that is the official name. It looks like this:

Here is my broccoli thingy in situ with Ghandi and friend.

We came upon a couple of really good street musicians along our way.

There was this really groovy sculpture nearby with random numbers flashing beside it. Apparently, it has many people not liking it, I thought it was pretty cool, even with the numbers!

As all good things do, my fun afternoon was drawing to a close. I had to get back up to the very overcrowded midtown. The Christmas tree is up in Rockerfeller Center and will be decorated with Swarovski Crystals this year. Saks Fifth Avenue's windows are all decorated in their usual over-the-top manner. I do love the holidays in New York! Thanks Susan for showing me unique sites as usual!!

Power to the People

There is nothing more satisfying than a group of people coming together for a common cause, acting upon it and bringing about change.

This happened just recently at the college I attend. Our football team, the Flying Dutchmen, yea, ferocious I know, won a football game 55-33 over a neighboring college. According to tradition, the students are supposed to get day off for this. This tradition dates back to the 1940's.

The other night, a small mob of students stormed the president's house chanting rhyming couplets of a poem written by a senior requesting the extra day off due to the football victory. The day was granted so we get to begin our Thanksgiving holiday one day early this year. Go team go!!! You can see news footage of the event here.

In other sports news at Lebanon Valley College, the girls field hockey team is participating in the NCAA semifinals in New York this weekend. Go girls!!!

¡Saludos! Recepción a Cuba!

I've seen on the news recently that the CIA believes that Fidel Castro may have cancer and may not survive much longer. I do not wish any ill-will on anyone, but just think of the possibilities when he dies!!! I am hopeful that the next person in control will not be as uncooperative and we will end our silly embargo on Cuba. Here's my top three reasons to end the embargo and open Cuba to the United States:

Number 1:

Number 2: Mmmmm Mojitos!

Number 3: Yea, I know, I wouldn't eat it, but it looks DAMN good!!!

When Thanks Isn't Enough

I was reading a blog and it reminded me that today is Veterans Day. I usually associate this day with my Aunt Emily's birthday because until fairly recently I didn't know too many Veterans except both my uncles who fought in WWII; one in Normandy, one in the Pacific.
As I was thinking about what to write here, I first did a search for a picture to include here and this is the one that caught my eye, and epitomizes what I believe to be a true veteran. To me, this picture says, I love my country, I'd do it all over again if I had to, and hey, I can still fit into my uniform!

Last night as I was watching the local news. They did a story about a local man that just passed away that was a seven-year POW in Vietnam. They showed an interview they did with him a few years ago, and that was the first time he had spoken about his time in Vietnam. I was amazed at the emotional control he had while telling his story and that he doesn't consider himself a hero. The question that finally broke through the emotional barrier was what was his reaction upon seeing the American Flag for the first time upon returning. That's when the emotion finally showed. That's when he said "it was all worth it."

My uncles have passed on, but now it seems I have quite a few new veterans in my life. You can find them here, here and here. Thanks guys!

Feeding Frenzy

Over the weekend, we indulged ourselves in one of my more favorite events in the area. It was the Taste of Central Pennsylvania which benefits the Central PA Foodbank. This one day event gathers restaurants, various cooking schools, wineries and brewing companies from the area to one location where they prepare a dish and the public gets to taste it.

Needless to say we left stuffed and somewhat tipsy. My favorites were the chilled strawberry soup, brownie cheesecake, langostine bisque and Loco for coconut cake, mini crab cakes, and dish from A Passage to India. It was vegeterian, had saffron rice served with it. It was to die for!!! Another veg dish was from 2nd Street Kabob which was hummus, falafel, tabbouleh salad, and pita. This is a very new restaurant in Harrisburg and is conveniently located next door to Hookas on Second. Just in case you're in the market for one. I had so many different wines, I can't remember them all. We both had some tasty beers from Lancaster Brewing Company. We tried a Milk Stoudt, dark and creamy and a Strawberry Wheat. I love fruity beer!

Now that I'm looking over the bill of fare from this event, I see we missed a few tables with some very delicious sounding food. However, I don't think we could have fit anymore food into our bellies.

Not only did we get the general tasting, we were also entitled to a private tasting, meaning we just got first dibs on the grub. But, prior to that, we had a private wine tasting with various fruits and cheeses. They served Coppola wines including my favorite Sofia. If you've never tried this sparking wine, you absolutely MUST! They also served a Coppola red and a Fetzer Chardonnay, another favorite of mine.

There are usually news crews around during this event, but I apparently missed them this time. When I got to class on Monday morning, my professor said, "I saw you on TV this morning." (insert perplexed look here) "You were at the Taste on Sunday weren't you?" Oh geez. He assured me I didn't have any food hanging out of my mouth or anything. Next time I'll have to remember to wear a disguise!

Stuff about Me!

Usually these things come via email as this one did from my friend at Smoke and Mirrors. And, since I really, really like to talk about myself, I thought I'd give you some of these details, some of which you may already know, may have already read the last time I did something like this or simply may not even care about. But, I'm going to talk about myself anyway...read on if you dare.

WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?
Like 5 seconds ago
DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Sometimes, I guess it's the mood and that determines the handwriting
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Ew!!!
IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Yes, most of the time.
DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?
I attempt paper journals but they all seem to have really huge gaps in them. I guess my best journal is this here blog
DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Oui!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Something I should never eat...like Frosted Mini Wheats or Frosted Flakes or Sugar Smacks
DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Depends if they have shoelaces or not
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
More physically than mentally, though I've persevered through a heck of a lot over the last year and guess what? I'M STILL STANDING!!
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Duh...chocolate
SHOE SIZE?
A delicate 8 1/2
RED or PINK?
Pink, and yes, I am pretty in it, thanks!
WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My weight which is considerably less lately
WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Blue flannel pj bottoms and big, fuzzy, black socks
LAST THING YOU ATE?
Brownies, before that, chips. Nice huh?
WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The hum of the laptop and the click of the keys and Jasmine making smacky noises
IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Cornflower
FAVORITE SMELL?
The ocean
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My sister
THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO?
Their face
DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yes, he's quite a groovy dude!
FAVORITE DRINK?
Wine, Whiskey, Soda
FAVORITE SPORT?
Tennis
EYE COLOR?
Blue
HAT SIZE?
Dunno
DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Nope
FAVORITE FOOD?
Anything that doesn't require the slaughter of animals
SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING?
Depends on my mood.
WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
White
WINTER OR SUMMER?
Summer!
HUGS OR KISSES?
Yes please!
FAVORITE DESSERT?
Creme Brulee or anything chocolate or Red Velvet Cake
BOOK YOU ARE READING?
Prodigal Summer
WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
No mouse pad...lap top
WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV?
Since the remote to the TV is missing...it's kinda difficult...but something on the Food Network
FAVORITE SOUNDS?
Ocean, purring kitties, the sound of a restaurant from the street outside as you pass by
ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles
THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME
Barbados
WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT?
I don't think I can mention that here....(kidding!)
WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Pennsylvania
WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Michael

Don't Get Sent to Iraq!

I never really concerned myself with politics. Though, my mother was a Republican Committee person and because of that I have been registered as a Republican my entire life. Because of the recent job I have, I am heavily involved in the upcoming elections on November 7 and have become acutely aware of other people's opinions on the war in Iraq, the job W. is doing and the state of affairs here in Pennsylvania.

Last July of 2005 proved to be a huge turning point for the state legistlature of PA. In the middle of the night, they decided to give themselves a huge payraise. Some of them were going to get like a 50% increase in their pay. It seemed like a good idea in the middle of the night, but when the constituents got wind of this, no one was smiling. Many people claim they will vote out every individual that voted for the payraise last year. There were some of the state legislators that paid the money back, some refused to pay it back, some donated it to charity, which is still the same as stealing, it's just a passive-aggressive way of doing it.

In the election taking place next week, we will be voting for a governor as well. The Republican candidate is none other than Lynn Swann from the bygone days of when the Pittsburgh Steelers were really, really good. But, I don't see Ed Rendell going anywhere, because as past mayor of Philadelphia, he has much of their vote.

The race that has me concerned is that of the United States Senate. We have former governor's son Bob Casey Jr. on the Democratic side and Rick Santorum on the Republican side. Rick scares me. He's just a little too far to the right for me. And the two of them are just ridiculous with their mudslinging advertisements. Their debates however, have been extrememly entertaining. According to a poll recently taken by Susquehanna Polling and Research, Rick is on the downslide...whew!!

I have been known from time to time to really stick my foot in my mouth. Thank goodness I'm not a politician. I hope to never say anything as stupid as Mr. Kerry did on Monday. Did the Republican's pay Kerry to say such a ridiculous thing so Bush's ratings would go up?

I happen to know two soldiers that have fought in some aspect for this war in Iraq and I think they are both about the smartest people I know!

The Final Countdown

Midterms came and went, the grades were posted and now we're on to picking our next classes. I was more than happy this past Friday to sit down and discuss my upcoming classes for the Spring 07 semester with my advisor.

These are my last four classes before I graduate!! I will be taking Intro to Experimental psychology, East Asian Art, Color and another independent study. I'm taking an independent study course this semester as well. I chose to study African art since I didn't know much about it. I've certainly learned a lot. My final paper will be on the notions of power and spirituality of the female as represented in African art. Next semesters study will be on either Renaissance or Baroque art.

Everyone, please pencil in the month of May. I will be having a huge party for graduation. Of course you are all invited!

Shakespeare in Love

Tonight is trick or treat night in my neighborhood. I already knew I wasn't going to be giving out any candy. I actually even forgot about the fact it was trick or treat until I got home from work and the cars began to line up along my street. Like from a Cheech and Chong movie, all the kids from within the overly stuffed minivan poured out onto the street with their various store purchased Halloween costumes. Then I remembered.

It was a somewhat warmish afternoon when I got home today and since the sun was still up I thought I'd leave my front door open. That wasn't going to last very long. Because at exactly 6:00.01 p.m. someone was knocking at my door. Then, 6:00.03, the doorbell rang. I ignored it. The character from Scream shuffled off my front porch to another neighbor. As soon as he left, I shut my front door and turned up the stereo. Again, the doorbell rang a few minutes later. Um, hullo....there is no porch light on. Isn't that the first rule of trick or treating???

I really love Halloween. But, I cannot stand the fact that greedy kids and/or parents have to truck their kids into my neighborhood for candy. And, did they even bother to eat dinner since the kids are knocking precisely at 6:00???

Whatever happened to creating a costume? My dad and I looked forward to making up some weird costume for me to wear. One year, way back in the 70's during the energy crisis, I dressed as a bum. My motto that I wore on my chest? "Save energy, become a bum." Yea, it won me a prize at a Halloween party! When I was older, I won another prize as part of the three headed huntsman from Monty Python and won most recently for my portrayal of Nancy Spungeon. You know, dead girl friend of Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols? I remember what was probably the most creative costume my dad and I ever came up with. I dressed up as a hurricane. We tiedyed a dress of my mom's all brownish. I think I wore a hat too. Probably had leaves and sticks attached to it. I don't remember that part. I don't think that won me any prizes, but it was pretty clever!

I must finish up my costume for a party I am going to this weekend. The theme of the party is Shakespeare. I have no one particular character in mind, just dressing for the time period. Invariably someone will say to me "who are you supposed to be?" I hate that question. So, I'll prey on the fact they probably have no inkling about Shakespeare characters in the first place and just say I'm Desdemona. I love that name. And Jimmy Buffett wrote a song about Desdemona. Besides, she resourceful and imaginative and got to marry Othello.

One of my current classes at school has given me quite a bit of reference material for the Shakespeare time period. Well, the Shakespeare time period but only in Italy. You know those proverbial cone hats with the sheer material that hang out the point? Yea, not authentic at all.

The Corporation

As part of the colloquium series on Democracy at college, the university has been presenting movies that parallel the lectures on Democracy or the lack thereof in the United States.

I went to see the movie The Corporation this weekend. If you're in the mood for something scary for Halloween, I strongly urge you to rent the movie. This movie left me wondering now what. I'm still wondering now what.

Thanks ABWA

I had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful ladies tonight. I was invited to speak at an American Business Women's Association meeting. They invited me to talk about my photographs which is great fun for me. And they fed me, and made me feel very welcome. Actually, they made me feel like a celebrity. They all knew my name when I got there and even took out an ad in a local paper announcing that I would be giving a talk about "tombstones from all over the world." Really, I'm not worthy!!

One of the nice things about giving talks like this is that I get to relive the trips in which I took the pictures and tell some fun stories about investigating cemeteries on some of my vacations. The best part is that there are usually people there that know about cemeteries that I do not. So, I get the scoop on new places I can check out.

I gave my blog address out to the ladies, hopefully some will be stopping by the blog to see more of my pictures.

Hi ABWA ladies, thanks again for having me!

The End of an Era

I was so sad to hear that last night was the final concert to be held at CBGB's club in NYC. You may remember I wrote about the impending closing of this place several months ago. Apparently nothing was going to preserve CBGB's in the Bowery any longer.

From what I understand there will still be a store in NYC where you can get CBGB's gear etc. But, the new club will be located in LAS VEGAS. Excuse me while I hurl.

R.I.P. CBGB's

An Experiment

I was thinking that this would be a very convenient way for me to collect some much needed data for a class project I'm doing in my Sociology class.

If you wish to participate, please put your responses in the comments section, or you may email me them if you wish.

Please answer the following questions:

1. From time to time, most people discuss important matters with other people. Looking back over the last six months, who are the people with whom you discussed matters important to you? Just tell me their first names or initials. Provide me with 5 names or initials if you can.

2. Here is a list of some of the ways in which people are connected to each other. Some of the people can be connected to you in more than one way. For example, a man could be your brother and may belong to your church and be your lawyer.

Please choose from the list below and attach a description to the name you provided me in question 1.

spouse
friend
other family
parent
coworker
sibling
member of group
child
neighbor
advisor
other

Thank you so much for your participation in my experiment! When we gather the class evidence and probably do some mathematical equation (done by someone other than me), I will publish the results, probably in late November.

Have a Happy Day!

Simply because my brain is on overload lately, I'm giving you fluff, cheap laughs, nothingness.

I'm sure you've all seen by now the Happy Bunny stickers, t-shirts, etc. I find these particularly funny. They're sarcastic and somewhat mean. Pretty similar to me as a matter of fact. So, I thought I'd share two of my favorites with you, lucky you!

And, my all time favorite:




Though I know that all boys don't lie, I think pretty much all of them stink...at one time or another!

Do Not Disturb

It's already that time in the college school year for mid-terms!! I consider myself fortunate that out of my four classes, I have technically only one mid-term and that's in my Italian Renaissance class. The test is tomorrow, first thing in the a.m. Two of my classes have no tests or quizzes. And the third class has tests and quizzes just no official mid-term this week. We took our test in that class last week. Say hello to Miss 93%!!

I've taken some lessons from the other students and have learned to make up "flash cards" in order to study. That seems to work out well, but for this particular class, it's helpful to actually see the artwork aside from knowing the dates and titles of the works.

That's my agenda for the rest of the day, going through my text books and notes. The dates are gonna kill me!!

Behold the Power of Boobs!

Where I Live Part Deux

I wanted to share with you another favorite of mine in the city in which I live and ironically, this week began a 5-day celebration of the 100th anniversary of the capitol building in Harrisburg complete with a parade! The streets were blocked off which made it interesting for me to get to work yesterday morning and parking was next to non-existent. My job takes me directly in front of the capitol building on a daily basis. Some days I must walk a block or so to get to the office which usually allows me a breathtaking view of the capital building. I've seen it lit up at night, I've seen it during the day with the background of a clear blue sky and it is always beautiful.

The interior of the building was designed after the Paris Opera with its marble, sweeping double staircases. It has been undergoing some renovations lately. The dome was refurbished recently and the artwork inside the building and the sculptures outside have been cleaned and repaired over the last couple of years.

My father used to take me here as a child. And he'd take me into the Senate and House Chambers with the large murals and giant wooden desks with microphones. It was as if we were kids sneaking around in places we shouldn't have been. I loved to sit at those desks and wonder what in the heck did they talk about there anyway?

Then, when I got to high school, our choir often sang on the steps inside the capitol building during the holiday season. The high rotunda and spiraling ceilings just lifted our voices throughout the entire building. I haven't been in the capitol building in years. I think I may need a break from all my paper writing this afternoon. A field trip may be in order!!!

Interstellar Lass and her creative cast of blogger buddies have come up with a meme of sorts about where we live. Lass asked if I would post pics of the bridge I walk across to get to work which I wrote about earlier. I happen to have some pics of that very bridge from a fall walk I took last November. This particular bridge was a bridge that you could drive on until 1972 when we had a very bad flood and damaged the bridge enough that we were no longer allowed to drive on it. The span of the bridge that connects City Island (home of Senators baseball) and the West Shore no longer exists. Again, a flood in the winter of 1996 took out most of that part of the bridge.

The view of the other "camel back" bridges over the river is quite lovely as well. If you were a fan of One Life to Live back in the late 80's early 90's you may recognize these bridges from the opening scenes of that soap opera.

A Peck of Purple Peppers

Hidden Cathedrals

I have a faithful reader that has quite an interesting job. My friend Paul (who is married to my friend Vera, father of Eliot and Adrienne) is a physicist. Now, often, when people ask him what he does for a living, he's kind of apprehensive about responding because it seems that when he tells them what he does, they get that glazed look on their faces and generally have no intelligent response in return. Well, at least that was my response anyway. That is, until I read Dan Brown's book Angels and Demons. That was my book choice for my book club and we were all too happy to have Paul come to our meeting and tell us all about what he does at a facility called CERN.

As you may read on their web site, it's the world's largest particle physics laboratory located in Geneva, Switzerland, well it's partially in Geneva, partially in France. Paul is there right now. I recently got an email from him explaining what his project is at this time.

Here's a picture of Paul and an exerpt from his email, because there is just no way I could possibly paraphrase what it is he's saying.

"Enclosed is a picture of a colleague from Duke and me standing at the location where the two beams of protons will collide once the ATLAS detector and the accelerator are finished and running.Behind us is the barrel portion of the "inner detector", the outer part of which the Transition Radiation Tracker, the part I have been working on for 12 years now. The barrel will be moved towards the camera so that the center of it will be where we are standing. The two other pieces of the inner detector will slide in on either side of the barrel. We are standing the bore of a very large electromagnet that is used with the inner detector to measure the momentum of charged particles leaving the interaction point. The yellow thing we are standing on is just a platform that will be removed once the barrel is hooked up.

You can watch the webcams in the cavern at:http://atlaseye-webpub.web.cern.ch/atlaseye-webpub/web-sites/pages/UX15_webcams.htm

Eventhough I don't fully understand all this, it's still pretty cool, and is certainly a project that when completed will be quite satisfying I would imagine. Paul, we still think you're a spy. ;P

Little Pink Heinies

I saw a lot of this over the weekend....and not the usual asses....this cute little pink heinies were attached to these....





Aren't they just adorable??? We went to the York Fair over the weekend, also known as the Southern York County freak show. Why couldn't I have had a Sociology experiment to do this past weekend????

If you're not going to the York Fair for a concert like Brad Paisley, Larry the Cable Guy or some such stuff, then the only other reason you would go is for the food; deep fried twinkies, oreos, onions, potatoes and whatever else people get batter dip and put into hot oil.

Sunday was another visit to Hersheypark. However, this time, it was about 80 degrees and very sunny. I'm not complaining, but I think I have shaken baby syndrome. I think my brains got rattled around this last time. My head still feels kinda queasey.

P.S. Happy 19th birthday to my nephew Patrick!!

A Divine Purpose

I believe in Divine intervention, karma, what ever you want to call it. I think there is most often a higher power showing and teaching me things in the events in my life.

Yesterday I was not only shown something, I was the teacher in a Divine episode. I was at the vet with Lester. He was getting his weekly supply of fluids in the hopes of keeping him comfortable as he goes through this kidney disease. He has lost more weight, but still wants to eat, go outside, etc. So, in my unprofessional opinion, he is not feeling all that badly.

So, I got to talking to a woman that had an enormous cat. He was probably only about 15 pounds or so, but he was tall and long. He looked like that cat that would just kick every other cats ass in the neighborhood given the chance. He slinked around the waiting room checking out every nook and cranny. He rubbed against my leg and smelled me and let me pet him.

I got to talking to her about the issues Lester is facing and what I'm doing about them. She became very emotional as I was telling her these things. I am surprised at myself for not breaking down and bawling my head off knowing that Lester is never going to get any better, only worse.

She finally said that she believed that I was put there at that exact time so we would have that chance to talk because she's facing some of the same issues with her cat and she was scared and wasn't sure what to do about the situation. I was glad that I was able to maybe calm some of her fears. I was glad to be part of the bigger plan.

I Will Remember You

I read recently on a blog that many people cannot even remember what year the September 11 attacks actually occurred. Is that possible?? This thing that effected the entire world and changed the way we go about our daily life has been so easily forgotten? Thousands of families all over the world lost loved ones and friends, and the average person cannot remember the year?

If you ask, I'll say anyone over the age of 40 what year John Lennon was shot, or what year Kennedy was shot, I would be willing to bet they'd know the answer. So why then, has this devestating act of terrorism been so quickly forgotten? Are we as a society just so eager to move on with our lives because it's just too difficult to deal with pain and suffering so it's easier just to forget it exists?

I have said for a long time that our society so quickly and easily disposes of things we no longer want or have a need for. We throw out food, clothing, household items, sometimes our pets, spouses and even children for something that pleases us more, makes us happy, fits in with our lives.

Several days ago I decided to sign on to the 2,996 tribute to the 9/11 victims via Smoke and Mirrors. Because I can think of an even greater tragedy than 9/11. And that is to let the victims of that day simply fade away. It's easy to move on and move forward. It's the remembering that is difficult. And we should always remember so these peoples lives didn't end in vain.

I looked into the face of the victim to which I was assigned for this project. Brian Fredric Goldberg. He was 26 years old and worked in the World Trade Center. 26....at 26 years old, I had been living on my own for just one year. My father had just passed away. I had been dating, for about a year, what I consider my first "adult" relationship. When I look back at that time in my life, I knew nothing. I can only imagine Brian was somewhat the same.

Click on his name. See his face, read a letter from his mother about how precious her son was to her. And always remember, if we continue to talk about these victims and remember September 11, 2001, their memory will live on.

Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

I am very much looking forward to this game this weekend. I hope it's a really good game and not a runaway game for either team. Really, what fun is that???

I've been proudly flying my ND flag outside my house since last week. My neighbor came over and told me it was brave to have it out. Yea, I guess I am knee deep in PSU country. They'll just have to get over it!

In light of the competition this weekend, and the potential war that may break out between me and NittanyBri, (eventhough he's pretending like he doesn't really hate ND, and isn't at all worried that ND may give them a run for their money) I'm asking for you, my throngs of fans to help us with a wager. Should ND win, NittanyBri must...., should PSU win Carnealian must....

Go Irish!!!

Eyelets

This image is from an artist named Jonathan Green. His show is opening at the art gallery at school. He's from the "low country" in South Carolina, and I am in love with the colors he uses in his art work. The artist reception is tomorrow night which I plan on attending. He will be visiting my art history class on Friday morning too. I'm looking foward to hearing his lecture.


Update: Mr. K (my cat) is still hanging right in there. He ate almost an entire can of tuna this morning complete with all the smacky, yum noises a cat can make. Thanks for all the comments and emails from everyone.

Update

My buddy is still with us. I can see him getting increasingly weaker and drinking more water which are the symptoms of this disease. I consider myself fortunate that I have this time to say goodbye and continue to love him until that final moment comes.

He still wants to go outside, eat grass, chase butterflys, jump up on the bed and eat. Until those desires leave him, he's not going anywhere.

Thanks friends for all the kind words, they are really appreciated. Thanks Brian for your support and love through all this.

And on a side note....how bout those Irish?? Next week is the big match up between Penn State and Notre Dame. It's been 14 years since they've last played. Should be an interesting day at my house with two big fans on both sides of this match up.

Goodbye Old Friend

I was given some very bad news today from the vet about my very best buddy in the world. He's in full renal failure. I have the choice of putting him through intensive IV therapy or euthanasia. He's been my friend for 14 years, and I don't want him to suffer with this any longer. This is going to be a very difficult and very sad weekend.

I will miss him tremendously.

It's Hip to be Square

I am part of a book club that meets on a monthly basis. We have usually one book to read and we get together at a local establishment to have some food and discuss the book....well, we get together to drink too.

I went to the library to get What Seems Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day. But, the library didn't actually have the book, they only had the book on cassette tape. So, I figured, well, I'd be able to listen to the book on my walk to the office and back. So, I dug out my Sony Walkman...yes, the bright pink one I bought back in the 80's. Plugged my ear buds into it and off I went. Fortunatley, I could keep the Walkman itself in my purse so as not to totally give away my age to every person that passed by and was able to actually recognize what the pink thing was that I had in my hand and attached to my ears.

It wasn't until I got a present from a "special someone" that I truly became part of the hip crowd and realized eventhough I kept the Walkman in my purse the ear buds were in fact not the tell-tale white color of an iPod.

Today I moved into the 21st century. The "special someone" that got me this most wonderful and very shiney gift, downloaded some music onto the iPod and I was able to have the "official" white earphones attached to my shiney new MP3 player on my walk into work this morning. I was so very hip!

The riverfront area is gearing up for the big Kipona festival this weekend. There will be lots of artists, bands and food along the river. However, it seems Ernesto seems to be making his way up here just in time for the weekend. Sunday and Monday are still salvageable according to the weatherman. But, you know how reliable they are.

My first day of classes went well. I have lots of reading to do and a couple of papers will be required along the way as well. Thankfully I think at least two of my classes don't have any quizzes or tests! Whoo hoo!!!

As I sat there in my first class of the day which was Renaissance Art, I knew that that's where I was meant to be. I was thankful for the turn of events that had gotten to this new adventure I have before me.

Here are more pics from Assateague since Blogger seems to be cooperating this morning.

Doe a deer....

A pony taking a rest...

Every year, it's a really big deal in this area as the ponies are hearded up, they swim across the channel and are brought into town and auctioned off. The money raised supports the local firefighters.

I'm not sure that I like that whole idea of taking the animals out of the wild, but I understand the need to maintain population control. I guess it's better than shooting them.

And on that cheery note....today is my first day of full time classes! I have three classes so I'll only be in school from 9:00-1:00 three times a week. I'm a little nervous, but probably only till I get there and then I'll feel better.

I Feel Like a French Fry

Remember those Solarcaine commercials years ago where the little kid is bright red and kind of holding his arms out so they don't touch his skin while he says "I feel like a French Fry"? Yea, the two of us have a bit of sunburn.

We only really got to the beach for one full day. I'm pretty militant about using sunscreen because I used to bake in the sun as a kid and had plenty of bad sunburns to last a lifetime. I only used like a 2 or a 4 SPF on my chest...have you ever had sunburn in your cleavage?? Not fun.

Now Brian on the other hand...just doesn't listen. He's been a hurtin pup for the last couple of days. But I think he's feeling a little better. Now the peeling should set in!

The weather at the beach was good for the most part. When we first got there it was overcast and raining. And, do I mean raining! We decided for a walk on the beach. Not a good idea at that point because a torrential rain came through. We were soaked.

The weather was clear the rest of the weekend. We even spent one day at Assateague Island National Seashore. We had the bikes packed and could get around the island pretty easily. Out of my many years of going to Maryland shores for vacation and my love for horses, I had never been to Assateague before. I think my father knew better than to take me to a place where horses are roaming free. The resulting pleading would have been; "I want one! We can keep him in the back yard? I swear I'll take care of him! The neighbors won't mind!"

There are many childrens stories about the ponies of Assateague and Chincoteague Islands. I'm sure I read them all as a little girls. This is the island where the horses are wild. I've never seen a wild horse before. It's kind of odd to see a horse standing in the middle of a field with no fencing. However, when we first got to the island there were three "moochers" in the parking lot. They've obviously realized that humans bring food. You are not supposed to pet or feed the animals, but you know how that goes.

This is a national park and therefore is a seashore devoid of t-shirt shops, hotels, amusement parks, gift shops and restaurants. You can pull your camper up to the park or pitch a tent and camp that way too. I would even consider camping, in a tent, here.


Apparently there is much wildlife to be found on the island including foxes, racoons and deer. We saw a doe on our way back to the car.

Since it was very hot, we packed up our wares and went back in to Ocean City, MD. We needed a drink!

Beach Baby

Me and this guy are leaving for the beach tomorrow. It will be our last hurrah before school starts, and we plan on having a super time before all the hard work begins!! The pets will be in capable hands (my sister) who will be pulling double duty between our pets and a neighbor's pets who are also going on vacation this week. Thanks sis!!



I've posted some new pics in the Flickr box on the right. These are the pics that I took with Mr. Dorman a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy them while I'm gone!!!

Weekend Update

Were did the weekend go?? I cannot believe it's Monday morning already.

Friday was a mixed bag. Jasmine had to have some surgery and while I knew she'd be fine, it's scary anyway. Of course the surgery also requires that she now wear an Elizabethan collar. They've gotten rid of the hard plastic collars and now they're some kind of soft material that makes her look like one of these. Which I'm thinking would be a good Halloween costume for her! I also went to a friends house for a surprise birthday party for another friend. The hilarious part was that the friend we had the party for had no idea the party was for her. Actually, even after the gifts and the cake and all, I still don't think she really got the idea the party was for her. Oh well!

Saturday was yet another party. This time a Luau. I got to be the guest bartender which was pretty fun. I was only responsible for making the margaritas and the whiskey (it's a wonder there was any left), tequila, rum and vodka. Didn't have to make anything fancy. Everyone at the party was dressed tropically, the food was tropical, and the evening's weather was kind of tropical too....hot and then rainy. The karaoke didn't come out till late in the evening which resulted in "someone" who shall remain nameless telling me that I must obey him because he had the microphone and the remote control for the karaoke. I got to hear some quite unique renditions of songs including Bad Mama Jama and Jive Talking.

Sunday, well, that was just a lazy day. Till the late afternoon when we got the idea to go for a bike ride along the river. There was a wonderful breeze which worked against us on the way up the river, but helped us on the way back. The sunset was just gorgeous and there was a group of boaters that were docked along an island. There must have been some kind of party going on on that island. I think there was even a band!

And one last thing that's been bugging me. Could this situation get any weirder???

Have a good Monday everyone!

Forever Young

Tomorrow is the day. The day my nephew leaves for University. Last night we had dinner together and I knew when he left, it would be the last time I would see him as the young, naive, impressionable 18 year old that he is. Next time we're together, he'll be 19, and will have just about finished his first semester in college. He'll officially be a cadet in the United States Navy as of this Friday.

I promised myself I wouldn't cry and I didn't, until this morning on the way to work, and now, and probably tomorrow. We hugged each other and said our "I love you's."

I'm so excited for him for this great opportunity he has before him. And, it's exactly what he's wanted to do for a long time now. He'll be majoring in physics which makes both my sister and my skin crawl. He wants to serve his country and I admire him for making this decision and sticking with it. I will miss him. He won't ever been the same boy I had dinner with last night.

I know that both sets of his grandparents that are no longer with us, would be absolutely beaming. And so they should.

"And when you finally fly away

I'll be hoping that I served you well

For all the wisdom of a lifetime

No one can ever tell
But whatever road you choose

I'm right behind you, win or lose

Forever Young."

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Recently, the weather here has been down right pleasant in the north east and the evenings have been somewhat cool. I don't remember the last time I had the air conditioning on, and the windows are open at night to let the cool breeze through. I actually broke down and put the comforter back on the bed because my sleep was being interrupted by the chilly air.

So last night was a cool evening, windows open, sleep taking over my body and mind. Nothing but the crickets chirping, the soothing sound of a car passing by on their way home from an evening out. The sound of the fan in the window upstairs humming its lullaby. CRASH!!! Thump, thump, thump!

"What the hell was that?" (Or a varying form of that question.) So, I get out of bed while trying to catch my breath from whatever the heck that was. I automatically assume that it was one of the animals getting into something. This often happens when a neighborhood cat comes to visit and is within sight of my two. But, not this time. All of the animals including the dog were looking at me wondering why I'm out of bed at 2:00 a.m.

So, I get to the stairs and look up to find that in fact it was the fan in the window that had fallen out. My nephew was sleeping upstairs, but apparently the crash and burn of the fan did not rouse him from his sleep.

The window fan I had previous to this one was notorious for falling out at inappropriate times of the day or night. It finally had to go in the garbage because it's last fall actually knocked something quite important lose from the mechanism and it wobbled and clanked instead of whirring and cooling.

The unwelcomed telephone call in the middle of the night, which, thankfully I haven't had in quite some time is another one that really gets the old ticker moving out of a dead sleep. My mom's side of the family was notorious for this. Mainly because someone had died. But, wouldn't they still be dead in the morning? Would it make any difference if we found out about it 8:00 a.m. rather than 3:30 a.m.?

I've also had one other traumatizing event in the middle of the night. It's the over the door shoe rack collapse of 2004. Again, I automatically assumed it was one of the cats dive bombing into the closet, because the closet has some pretty interesting stuff in it, particularly if you are a cat!

But, again I was wrong, it was in fact, the unrelenting weight of the 30 or more pair of shoes that strain the little plastic clips that hold the rack to the door. My new one just broke the other day. But, fortunately, I have a MacGyver in my life and he was able to make some adjustments so it won't come crashing down in the middle of the night.

Fun Stuff

The weekend is starting early in my neighborhood. I was able to leave work about 2 hours early today.

Of course, when I got home I discovered that one of the cats, the one with the stripes, has decided to initiate the couch with pee. Yea, thanks. He hasn't done that in a really long time and I really have no idea what may have provoked it. But, that is how he has gotten the nickname Peebody. Soon, he's going to be called Homeless. Not really, but it's aggravating.

Anyway, the weekend plans thus far seem pretty interesting. Mr. Dorman will make his way to Harrisburg again this weekend. Hopefully we can find some good things to photograph like we did last weekend. Of course, I haven't had the time to put pics out on my Flickr account yet.

This is my nephew's last weekend at home. He leaves for Norwich University next week. He will also be at my house over the weekend. We've got some special plans in the works for that boy this weekend. Some he's sure not to soon forget.

Everyone have a super weekend!!

Mr. Roboto

I see more and more animated movies being made. Recently Ant Bully came out. I'm sure these movies are cute and funny. But, the sad thing to me is, lately all the characters look the same. The kids in Ant Bully look like the kids in The Incredibles.

Computer generated images have really done some amazing things in the world of animation. But, it has also taken the individuality and creativity out of the drawings.

I guess the same could be said for the world of music. As many countless combinations of note can be put together, the music sounds the same because the artists are using machines to make the music.

Is it possible that we rely on machinery so much that were are becoming a world of clones and actually turing off the creative portions of our brains? Will we propogate children of the future that are unable to create through music, art and the written word because of our reliance on computers to do the work for us?

A Walk in the Park

Since I've been working during the daylight hours at my job in the "big city", as opposed to working in the evenings as I had in the past, parking has become somewhat of an issue. Not really and issue but something I've never really had to consider before. Because I work right in downtown Harrisburg, on 3rd Street to be exact (that alone becomes a joke to anyone from Harrisburg. 3rd Street is synonymous with prostitution. However, I've never seen a prostitute on 3rd Street and I've lived here all my life.) Anyway, so as not to have to pay a parking meter or pay an exhorbitant amount of money to park in a parking garage, I park on an island in the middle of the river. It's the same island that has batting cages, the baseball park, miniature golf, etc.

Because I park inexpensively on this island, I then must walk across an iron walking bridge that crosses the river and up about three blocks and left about 10 or so blocks. It's kind of funny, but I usually find myself on these same streets between 9:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. on a Friday or Saturday night since many of the downtown bars I go to on occasion are en route to my office. Once I do get up to 3rd Street, the view is of the capital building which I never seem to get tired of seeing. I'm still inspired by it every day I walk by. Another fortunate thing is that I go to work later in the morning after most of the a.m. rush as gone. So, the walk is usually pretty quiet.

This morning it was especially nice taking this walk. It is always pretty nice getting a good walk in first thing in the a.m. but this morning it was breezy and sunny. The temperature was mild. There were a couple of guys fishing on the river and their boat was parked just beneath the bridge I was walking on. And, I didn't even have a skirt on!!! The water was sparkling and you could see the water currents moving swifter than the rest of the river. I could hear the radio on the boat and I thought, today would be a great day to be on the water enjoying life.

Luckily, I don't anticipate having to take this walk in the ugly winter weather months. I will be at school by then and probably only working in the evenings and will be able to park close to the office. At least, that's what I'm hoping!!

I just got back from a walk/run through the neighborhood. The air is slightly cool and it was just getting dark. And La Bella Luna is enormous tonight!!! HOooooooooooooooooowlllll!!!

Wasted Away Again in Margaritaville

Parrot Heads (which are ironically very similar to Dead Heads) are some pretty creative people. Last night was my first experience at a real Jimmy Buffett concert. Now, a few years ago, I and a couple of friends went up to see Jimmy as he performed live on the Today Show in NYC. That was a completely different animal than what I experienced last night.

The venue, The Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, VA was bombarded with all sorts of craziness. When my Buffett buddy Stacy and I got to the Pavilion, we saw a sea of cars, some with fins on the roof, some with pointy teeth painted on the windshield. There were hula skirts, coconut bras and tiki bars galore. Some folks even brought their own hibachis, sandboxs and swimming pools. Most everyone brought alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. And yesterdays temperatures were in the upper 90's and very humid. So many of these fans baked in the sun for a good part of the day before the concert and apparently cooled themselves with some kind of frozen concoction.

After we walked about 1/2 mile from the parking area we finally got the gates where we showed our tickets and got into the pavilion. This is where the once moving line came to an abrupt halt. And it was a sea of sweaty, smelly, pushy and highly intoxicated bodies collided.

We finally got to the pavilion which is made up of a covered seating area and then a lawn. The lawn is where people brought blankets and lawn chairs and lots and lots of beach balls.

By the time we made it to our seats, the concert had already started. Which was a little disappointing to me but I got over it quick. There was still absolutely no breeze under the pavilion so the profuse sweating began and didn't stop for about an hour. Jimmy mentioned that at that exact moment it was 15 degrees cooler in Key West than it was in Bristow, VA.

Jimmy did all the favorites, Cheeseburger In Paradise, Margaritaville, Son of a Son of Sailor, etc. He also did many non-Buffett songs. He actually has a guy in the band that was an original member of Little Feat, so some Dixie Chicken was in order. Jimmy also did Southern Cross, Werewolves of London and a tribute to his creole home with City of New Orleans.

Jimmy also had with him a young man named Jake Shimabukuro who played the ukulele. I mean wailed on the ukulele. Have you ever heard a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner on the ukulele with steel drums as back up? It was amazing. This kid was so good!!!

During some of the breaks, they would show videos on the giant screens from concerts earlier in the summer and mainly of the tailgating that goes on in the parking lot prior to the show. All I can say is that some girls have been staying up late and catching the "Girls Gone Wild" advertisements on TV. Whew! Girls...put those things away!

The show was over around 11:00 p.m. We waited a bit to let some of the people get out of the seating area. This was our first glimpse at the lawn which was previously covered with dancing bodies and now looked more like a war zone. There was abandoned blankets, crushed plastic cups, plastic water bottles, and a lone flip-flop (not blown out either!) Then, we made our way back the 1/2 mile to the parking lot. Fortunately, Stacey had her thinking cap on. We had a cooler of water in the trunk and had two folding chairs there as well. We sat in the parking lot for over an hour just waiting our turn to actually leave. And that was normal from what I heard from some of the employees there. This place has only one way in and one way out. Yea, that was my least favorite part of the night. Basically, we sat around drinking water and watching this guy across the way puke his guts out. Good times!

Buffett was awesome, I think this may have been a once in a lifetime thing for me. If you go to a Buffett show, get yourself physically prepared like 6 months in advance. Buffett shows are not for the frail, weak or incompacitated. Nor are they for those that do not like to have fun. Now...where is the shaker of salt??

Down on the Knees of My Heart

Is it just me or do a lot of bad things happen all at once? Of late, I've been informed of a "friend" who took their long time pet to the animal shelter because she was attacking other dogs. I've never been in this situation, but I hope that I would have found another option besides condemning my pet to euthanization.

I've also heard of other folks breaking up with their significant others and family members passing away. I've also discovered of late, that I've been pretty selfish and self-absorbed potentially resulting in the loss of a very dear friend that has been hurt by my actions.

Today, on the way to work I see a very frail, elderly man being taken away in the ambulance, no doubt because of heat related health issues.

Then, at work today I found out about a coworker that was killed in a car accident. She was 22 years old. I don't think I ever spoke to her, but she was a recent graduate (Suma Cum Laude) from a local college, was engaged to be married next year, and was active with local women's shelters. Here is her obituary.

Sometimes the world just seems so overwhelmingly cruel and tragic. I hope everyone that reads this goes home and gives their loved ones a hug and tells them how much they are loved.

Everywhere are Signs

First, let me just say it's hot as blazes here. We were supposed to break the record set a couple of years ago and reach 100 degrees today. And I have to say, I think we just may have. Whew!!

I have been noticing lately that there have been lots of protesters around. I don't know if they've been imported from somewhere or they're just popping out of the closet to voice their opinions.

I mean, in the past I've seen the protesters at Planned Parenthood, the gay bashers, etc. They are still around. Just last weekend was Pride Fest in Harrisburg and from what I heard, the bashers were at it again. There is also the person that has been most boisterous about Planned Parenthood and abortion. This person has a sign they change almost daily depicting dead babies and all other sorts of sometimes absurd viewpoints.

Last weekend when I went to Harrisburg to the Dave Matthews cover band, there were the Bible bangers proclaiming I should "Repent Sinner" and "Mend my wicked ways."

Today I noticed a few more. They were outside the Dauphin County Courthouse. There were about 5 of them urging those driving by to "Honk if they wanted Peace" and "Peace is Patriotic too" and the one that caught my eye: "Fund healthcare not warfare." Which seems like a darned decent request.

So, I don't know if we're just getting really progressive around here or if people have really just had it with the war and all the other stuff going on in the world. But it seems some folks have something to say.

Just an Update

I can hardly believe today is the last day of July. I don't know where the days go, especially in the summer. Maybe it's because I love the summer that it just flies by.

I will start school in about one month. I think I have all the books I need. I ordered them on line through Amazon.com and saved myself about $100 or more.

I've been doing some reading on African Art over the summer. The independent study I will be doing in the fall will basically be a research paper and I needed to find a subject to write on. So, I chose African Art since I don't know much about it. So, I think I have my subject, just need to narrow it down a bit.

Friday was my last day at the sandwich shop. I'm going to be working full time at what was my evening job which will now be my day job. That's what's so convenient about this job. If I need a day off, I just don't schedule myself for that day. If I don't want to work at night, I sign up for day hours.

I'm considering riding my bike to work from now on. Then I won't have to park a mile away, won't have to pay to park and I will get some exercise. The scary thing is the traffic. I need to give the ride in town a try and see how long it takes. The hours at this job are not the usual 8-5, so I really wouldn't need to worry about rush hour traffic.

The next couple of days are forecast to be really, really hot. The heatwave from the mid-west is moving our way. So, doing anything in the afternoon is just out of the question.

Three days till Buffett!!!

All Fun-ed Out

Tonight some friends and I went to Hersheypark. I haven't been there...in well, over 10 years. They have lots of new coasters that I got to ride for the first time tonight. I got my first taste of an inverted roller coaster. That was certainly a new sensation! Let's just say my throat is sore from screaming OH GAWD! for most of the night.

At first we thought they weren't running the coasters because it was kind of stormy round about 5:00. And, it did rain a little. But after we got on some of the water rides and were soaked to the skin, it just didn't matter anymore.

The last ride we rode on was Tidal Force. Basically, there's one big hill and a really huge splash at the end resulting in becoming thoroughly soaking wet. My clothes I swear weighed about 10 pounds.

I've had enough fun for a while. My throat needs a rest. Off to bed I go!

Disappointment

I just heard some disappointing news about the Floyd Landis, the winner of the Tour de France. Now, there are allegations of him doping. They've found increased testosterone in his body. There are still some tests to be done to see if, in fact, he was using drugs to improve his performance.

What fun is there to winning if you have to cheat to do it? Here's this local guy from Lancaster County. He was raised strict Mennonite. His parents don't even have a TV and were in church while he was winning the Tour.

I hope these allegations are simply the French version of a temper tantrum.

The Final Countdown

As it has been in the past few months, my life has been running in fast-forward. And as always the summer just flies by. And most of the time I find myself going, Holy crap! I have this tomorrow, or don't forget about that the day after.

Today is one of the days that I've sort of been dreading. It has been looming out there for the last three months, now the time of reckoning has come. Because I'm going to school full time in fall, I have to get a physical. That's not the problem. The problem is that according to my medical records, I haven't had any sort of vaccinations since I've been like 2 years old.

In light of that, I'm due for about 5 shots today. Yea, go ahead, make the wincing sound. Thanks!

The other thing that has seems sort of far off but is now fast approaching is the Jimmy Buffett concert. It's next week!!! My friend Stacey and I are super excited about the show and the fact that we will get a chance to get away for an overnight visit to the Washington D.C. area. The show is at the Nissan Pavilion in Virginia. Hope the hotel has a pool!! God, what will I wear?!?