I went into work super early Friday knowing that I would be able to leave at an earlier time because the extra program I head would not be running that evening. I was very excited about this, as I had plans to go out for dinner and drinks with a couple of friends that I havent seen, other than in passing, in a few months. They were my co workers. I see them from a distance at work- but there is never an opportunity to chat. So for awhile, we have been saying that we need to get together. I had been excited about it all week, but yesterday was too much. I was insanely chipper. I just really missed them and it was great to know that we could finally spend quality time catching up.


We ate and all had one drink. We were too busy talking to order more. And there was this warped sense of time. I thought it was at most 7:00 and instead it was 10:00. We were equally in awe as we had been there for about 6 hours, and it only felt like 2. That was nice. Shortly thereafter we departed.

As I really thought it was much earlier, I didn't know where to go next. It seemed to late to try to set up another activity, short of standing in a bar. It was super cold and windy and scary outside. My next move was to go to Blockbuster and see what movies may interest me. It had been a long time since I rented a movie- but I was definitly in the mood to get cozy in bed and watch a movie.

I rented The ONe and Waking Life.

I watched THe ONe, which is very much my kind of movie.


If it were infused with a little more sci-fi, such as getting more into the multiverses, then it really would have been extra fun. Since there were plenty of fight scenes combined with super human strength, it held my rapt attention.

I think I'm on a Jet Li kick. I need to see, The Master, next.





then a couple of extra, just because.... ;)





It was seriously crazy windy last night. Drivng was freaky-- feeling my car being pushed around on the highway. Lights were flickering everywhere- the restaurant, blockbuster, street lights, etc. SOOO creepy.

On another note, driving down Lewiston Hill, the view of Toronto was great. The entire skyline was lit up- it was just that clear to be able to see so much of the city from afar. Very nice!

I'll get a pic one day soon..

Alright peeps, have a great day. I am off to clean and then work on some projects. I would still very much like to have a drink or ten..

Catch ya later!

I have nightmares when I fall asleep on my back; so ofcourse I try not to do that.
it was hard for me to get to sleep last night..I tossed until I felt myself dozing off-- mostly on my back. I wondered what kind of bad dream it would be..
I used to have terrible tornado themed dreams as a kid. they only stopped once I dreampt about one that also had the Golden Girls in it..ha ha..it was just silly.
anyway,my nightmares often still have the tornado theme, but usually I can pull myself out of the dream, or manipulate the outcome..but notbefore some uncomfortable stuff.

last night was one crazy tornado themed dream. there were so many elements that could have been really bad, but I managed to ward off the issues. like everything turned out just fine..
I still pulled myself out of the dream.. but I was impresses thar the typical anxiety provoking details were avoided. I was totally with it and incontrol. not too shabby.

much prefer my naked ewen mcgregor dream, but hey, I teake what I can get.

get outside..its still so nice!

So I am sitting here messing with different sizes and such with my 8125. -- as per suggestion of (e:paul) --Not that I remember what size I took the pictures at as I began snapping away. Had a whole bunch that only picked up my eyeballs-- that seems to happen a lot.

I was going to take random pics of stuff in my room, but looking around, I really don't see anything to take a picture of. Lipstick? Car keys? a soup mug? tethered house boys? so my test pics are of me instead, or parts of me.


some standard and some sepia

my crooked little mutant pinky:



see? just eye balls.










I think I have to change the transfer size as well.. time for another test pic. (circus pinky taken at large size and sent as large file size--ahhh)

Gah, I would have loved to played hookey today!! It was soooo nice outside! I always feel like walking as I have tons of pent up energy. Its too dark and late to go for a walk in B-Lo. I was able to use some of that crazy energy today at work (surprisingly)-- literally running around, although high heels did not make it comfy to do so. The last 20 minutes I kicked off my shoes. Despite my active day, I still feel a bit rambunctious. I think I will go pester the men..

Think thats about it-- no major complaints :)

Hope all is well-- we got through Monday, yes?

wow, what a nice day outside.

I trekked down to Fort Niagara- the earthy smell of grass, dirt and leaves was highly pleasing. I took deep breaths, the air feeling mild and cool at the same time.

Boaters took advantage of the gorgeous day. The water of the Niagara River was very calm. Lake Ontario boasted more ripples, but it too was calm.

A few people out skipping stones, riding their bikes, walking their dogs, jogging, boating, holding hands, sitting on picnic tables looking out at the water. One person read while sitting on a blanket spread out on the ground; I liked that. I want to have a fall picnic now.

All these activities that people are doing today, on such a traditionally nice autumn day, are things that I will do all year long. Although I can never quite talk anyone into my mid-winter picnics or camping ::)

I took just a few pictures with my pocket pc. I wanted to bring a camera with me- however my old camera is structurally frozen- can't get parts to move(I wonder if I can take it apart?) and my new camera need the batteries to charge-- which is an all day affair first time around.

It was super bright with that sunshine.. the water was ablaze..










simple piece of wood endlessly amuses me..





Now it is time to find some food before heading back into Buffalo. I want to spend time reading and maybe writing. I enjoyed my snuggly chair at Starbucks last weekend, so I may opt for a return trip. Maybe I can get one next to the fireplace OOooOooooh nice.

Then a movie later- right? Right.

Stopped at Tops this evening to buy a few things for Thanksgiving dinner. As it will be just my mother and myself, we do not need much. I am very easy to please on Thanksgiving. I just need one turkey, a giant vat of real mashed potatoes and an equal portion of gravy. My mother is a vegetarian, so I seriously have a turkey to do as my carnivorous desires take me.

oh, and 'yoga pants'--(girly sweat pants) You know you'll be busting out the Zuba's Mwhahahahahahah

and maybe some apple pie.

and if there happens to be anything else, I will eat that too. My standards are simple, like I said.

If it were ever formal and dress-up that would not be my thing. I am more apt to want to relax, eat, and sleep on thanksgiving. Ooh, veg in front of the fire.. nice..

I wandered down an aisle that had a display of winter items. I happened to notice that salt you put down to melt snow and ice with is the same that you make ice cream with. This disturbs me, i think..







Tops did not carry tofurkey that I saw, so I picked up Quarn turkey. I like their products so far, so this might be good? Not sure if my mom will go for it. I just thought I would buy and prepare it to be nice-- and to make sure she doesn't get any ideas about touching my turkey.

kidding-- i am not that posessive over it

• growls*

semi itinerary for turkey-day:

clean

do my dishes. icky

go for hike/walk-- especially if it is sunny

eat

relax

engage in global domination activities

eat some more

sleep.

Anyone check out the stars toightz? its super clear out there!

My new user pic was selected in honor of Thanksgiving.
(homer)

be safe.. be well.. be thankful for elastic waistbands :)

I am writng about tea. Simple, hum-drum, non risque. I'll do better next time ;) SO what brings me to write about tea? Well, I could write about the trouble I am causing at work (delish) or the french speaking sexy moroccan man that I have been flirting with (more delish)- or any other number of observations, musings and sources of scandel- but no, tonight I write about tea (thats delish too). My creativity has been on hiatus- soon to return; I will make sure of it. I write whatever (obviously) pretty much to keep my mental muscles warm. Besides, its a habit. 22 years worth of "journaling".

so, tea. I love tea. I drink all kinds. I have been going through a lot lately- tea bags, loose teass, green, black, red, sea anenomes, infusions, whatever. I drink it for caffeine, I drink it to keep warm, I drink it to help me sleep, I drink it to keep me hydrated. Sometimes i drink it to give me crazy dreams. (watch out for those "sleep aide" varieties, especially from Yogi brand)

for a legal warped state of unconsciousness, try:


I stopped at the Lexington Co-op before turning in for the evening. I wanted to grab some apples and a box of tea. I couldn't remember what stash I had left in my B-lo home. On a side note, I also bought a small bag of "papaya spears". They are not fabulous at all- I found these ones very unenjoyable to gnaw on. (e:PMT) you are welcome to them!--you know where my snacky stash is--

My apple was good, crispy and juicy, though!

I looked at the shelves of tea boxes up and down, looking for a little something different. A big mug of steaming tea while curled up at my desk this evening seemed to be my deciding factor for selecting a decaf variety.

I spied with my tea roving eyes a variety of holiday themed flavors from Celestial Seasoning. That usually wouldnt intrigue me, but at $1.99 a box, I went in for a closer look.

It smells and tastes better than it looks:


"sugar plum spice"

Hibiscus, roasted barley, chicory, rosehips, chamomile, natural plum, cinnamon, ginger, roasted carob and cardamom.

Its sweet.

and its pretty yummy. Caffeine free for night time tea drinking.

I never add anything to my tea. I used to add honey and occasionally milk, but then I found it too much of an effort and eventually began drinking it plain--for a couple of years now.

Lazy is not always a bad thing!

(its only bad when you start throwing out dirty dishes because it sucks to wash them by hand. *I'd* never do that..)

My eye then wandered to another box of tea- yerbe mate variety. mmmm Mate Chocolatte.

"a blissful, sweet blend of yerba mate, cocoa and spices"

oh, and "naturally caffeinated"

um, yeh, I was sold. I do believe I look forward to that in the morning! Betta be good!





Ahh, my hot tea has eventually turned into iced tea. I should be drinking this in front of the fire...and I should be getting royalties from this post ;)


time to relax--
be well,stay warm, peeps!

turkey (tofurkey?) day is drawing near!

good night..

I am fatigued and in need of sleep, which will occur shortly, but first I needed to recap the day.

It felt like a long drawn out work day- no breaks, no lunch, just busy humdrum-- the usual. I wont re hash the details as I want to purge my mind of most of the day.

I do not work directly with the children any longer. ((I am in administration- and I juggle a lot of stuff. I am in the process of hiring a supervisor --to better equip and support the program that is being rebuilt. One day i will explain more of what I do..))

OK, so I don't work with the kiddos directly- I do see them-- but from a distance. Some continue to say hi to me, and that always puts a smile on my face. One child who is very dear to me, I try to sneak in to see him. One of the employees in that classroom also work for me, so I make an excuse to go in and speak with her, all the while saying hello to my 'little man'.

He's tough, anyone who knows him understands that he and I went through a lot together. We have a bond and its pretty cool to see that it still exists.

I was walking down the hall at the time that he was. He had two staff members walking with him to his bus, one on either side of him. As I was walking toward him- to walk past him (it isn't really 'appropriate' for me to be involved any longer, meh), I glanced in his direction. He had already been looking at me-- and took that as a que to reach out for me. He got the biggest smile on his face (I am sure my smile was already there) and he grabbed my hand and tried to vocalize something. I lowered my face to his and told him how proud I am of him and that I hope to visit him in his classroom soon. I had "business" to attend to-- that needed my immediate attention so I had to be quick. He did not want to let go of my hand and tried to pull me with him to the bus. The staff asked if he was holding on, and I said yes. They were surprised. As I said, he and I have a bond. And when he said, 'don't go' and they were astonished even more. And I didn't want to go..

but I did.

I felt mildly sad.. to not be able to give him my time.

but a stong sense of happy won out on that one. He made eye contact, looked for my acknowledgement, sought my hand and my words and wanted me to go with him.. after time apart, this continues.

That is the pay off of hard work on both of our efforts.

And so I zipped down the hall to take care of 'urgent business'

wondering and trying to see/feel that sense of accomplishment and pride in what I do now.

funny how love works. or doesn't work.

the things you learn about yourself

the things you unlearn

it all seems so grand, yet it is all so basic.

for some its easy

for others its hard

some people want it, but don't get it

others get too much of it, but don't want it-

Feelings.

they really are a driving force. even if you have them locked and well guarded.. they are still there.

and when they break out of their cell, it is mayhem--and control is lost...

is this the result of answering old questions,

or answering new ones?



I do not know.



I do reccommend tossing the key and seeing what happens-- the good, the bad, the ugly-- it is a part of the sensual life. Without it, it is all mechanical- easy, contolled and safe.


now if I would just follow my own advice, yes?









btw, thanks for sharing:?

(had to publish and run earlier, if anyone noticed that this was just lniks in the post)

I was going through you tube videos and found this. Surprised that I hadn't seen anything about this yet.

GAH!

full length YouTube video (7 minutes):



written account with video:




from msnbc- folllow links..

sn excerpt from a UCLA student blog who was there:

Apparently when the campus security asked Mustafa for his ID he refused to show it to them. One witness said that he said it was in his wallet, but he didn't want to show it to the security guard. The security gaurd asks him to leave, as it is policy that anyone without a student ID card may not be in the library after 11 pm. Mustafa refuses. The campus security leaves to go get UCPD (on campus police). During this time, Mustafa decides to leave the library. He packs up his things and begins to head for the door. He is approached by UCPD, who grab his arm because they don't want him to leave (I guess they wanted to question why he was refusing to show his ID). Mustafa asks the police not to touch him. At this point no one is screaming/getting the shit tased out of them. The police insist on escorting him out of the building when Mustafa goes limp in resistence.

The police threaten him a couple times I guess. He yells "get the fuck off of me" and "I'm leaving!". This is when he gets tased.

....He gets hit with the taser again...and again....and again...and again. At this point the students in the library begin to become upset. One girl asked the officer for his name and badge number AND HE THREATENED TO TASER HER. The police were pointing the taser at concerned bystanders and threatening to taser them. Several people I've talked to can account for this. They were making these threats after Mustafa had been tased at least 3 times and after he had been put in handcuffs and was lying on the floor like a puddle of goo.

abuse of power?

(e:pyrcedgrrl) failed to post on estrip about this, so I must take it upon myself to do so :)




I wanted something sweet, so I bought a package of break and bake cookies. I burned them, well, over cooked them. I do not like crunchy cookies, so I had to toss them. Oh, well. I am sure there will be other opportunities to munch in the future.






I am working on multiple resumes. Actually, I keep getting side tracked at looking at various job postings on Monster.com-- I have been humoring myself looking at companies in NYC.




The resume part is challenging for me, as I want to get away from what I have been doing for so many years. Its time to switch things up a bit. So I have to focus on things other than the field and positions I have held. Lets see what I come up with. I may need something dfferent just so I have more time to focus on building a business. I have been working on one project on and off for awhile.. now something else has landed in my path and I am very curious about it. So I am doing research on that as well. and networking and picking peoples brains.

very cool.