Blur

Playing Blur "Parklife" on the iPod went perfectly well with the morning rush. Wants to move quickly, but just can't because of the forces of nature.

DWG

Went out to the Delaware Water Gap to visit my friend. Got to have the greasyest breakfast every, but it was damn good. Then hit up a flea market - bought buttered nuts, beef jerky, shoo-fly pie, and a grapefruit spoon (to use for getting wet cat food out of the can). After that we went for a little hike on the Appalachian trail. Got some really nice pictures out of that.

Tomorrow I'll go for a nice bike ride. Have to get the 2 flat tires fixed first. Oh joy! Thankfully I got a buddy who loves to touch my bike and keep it running good. :)

So glad that warm spring is here.

subtitles

When I watch a foreign film, I really enjoy hearing the foreign language and don't mind reading the subtitles. Mostly cause when it's dubbed, the acting is completely off, no matter what. Just makes sense to me. I wish when I get movies it would at least give me the option to watch it as is with subtitles instead of dubbing it. Kind of annoying.

Any-waz... it has been awhile since I last posted. Been crazy busy with work and school, and now taking martial arts class. Haven't been on the bike yet this season, too much rain on the weekends. Kind of stinks. Let's hope for this weekend will be nice enough.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to Mom today! :)

apple vs oreo

I've got an apple sitting here, just waiting to be eaten. But I keep thinking about an oreo. And how yummy an oreo would be right about now. Maybe if I walk home it will cancel out the bad affects of the oreo. I should eat the apple, it is red and pretty and probably delicious. Damn you oreo!

my new chair

They call it a La'Z Boy... I call it a La'Z Girl

By the way, the movie Notorious was being filmed on my street today. Wish I could have stayed home to watch it.

Dirty Thirty

It's offical... I'm 30!

HD radio

The wave of the future is HD radio, right? Sure, I believe it. For xmas I got mom a new car radio, with HD radio available and a nice little MP3 player cable. Shows how much I love her. Right? Well, she loves it, even ordered Sirus (all by herself!) and loves it even more. About 2 weeks ago, one of my favorite radio stations went off the air, more specifically it went off FM waves and moved to HD waves. No problem I say, I was planning on getting a new reciever anyway. My current one is decent, but old and my iPod sounds like shit going through it. Come to find out a reciever with HD radio will cost like $10k or something crazy like that. No good! Guess I have to wait a bit longer. At least I've got AOL XM radio for free for now online. =)

V-Day

I've been known to get something really yummy from Starbucks, but eat only half and throw the rest away. Then I desire more and figure it really isn't "in" the trash long, so it's safe. But is it?

Boston

I hit Beantown this past weekend (3-day weekends rock!). My girl from Rochester just moved there by way of Washington, DC. It was my 2nd time hitting Boston for an adventure. Well first off it's damn cold there. Like Rochester weather. Next trip up will be in the warmer spring time. It really is a pretty little place. Much more spread out than NYC I think, but easier (and cheaper) to get to most places. All the cab rides with 3 people was less than $13. That's near impossible in NYC. The traffic seemed light too. We did a pub-crawl on Saturday night. The people of Boston like to drink. And they make it so easy with pubs next door to more pubs. Brilliant! Every pub/restaurant had big screens playing sports. Wonder what they show when a game isn't on? Is that even a possibility?

Anyway, I met some real cool people and hanging with my girl (and her Mom too!) is always good times. We rested on Sunday, went shopping and had a real yummy Italian dinner. Then went to Jillian's to play pool and watch the football game. It was a great way to end my break from school. On Tuesday classes started up and of course I'm behind on homework already (I so need those brain cells back). =)

New Years Resolution

This year I decided to make a real conscious effort in creating less waste. I have things like a coffee travel mug, now I just have to use it. I refuse plastic bags (bags in general really) as much as I can. Its weird, when I refuse the bag, no one ever hears me. I'll have to say it once, twice, sometimes thrice! As for my little sandwich bags, I used them all up and started using a reusable cloth/plastic wrapper. It's great, I just rinse off the pb&j and use it again in the next day. Here is the kicker though... I order my groceries sometimes from an online store. Once in awhile they toss in a few extra things, without charging. Well of course they gave me a nice huge box of Glad sandwich bags. WTF! It's like the stars are lining up against me on this one. But why? I'm trying to do good. I guess it must be that no matter how good your Resolution is to help yourself or the planet, the real-life situation is that its not easy (being green). I will continue my effort. The no bag thing is easy... I just refuse it and carry my stuff in a reusable bag or literally just carry it. The cleaning the travel coffee mug everyday is not so easy. I got dish soap, the bathroom soap at work wasn't cutting it. Today I totally cheated, got coffee in a throw away cup. The guilt is already rushing over me. *sigh*

Graceful Walking

The other day I caught the Alfred Hitchcock movie "Rear Window" on TV. I so love old movies like this. "Rear Window" is by far my favorite Hitchcock film. The story line is easy and I totally love Jimmy Stewart's wheelchair bound act in it. When Grace Kelly joined him on screen, my flat-mate and I agreed that she walks in heels like a woman should. I just was shocked how amazing she looked when she was literally prancing in those high heels. Usually I see girls walking around the city like they have no idea they are wearing heels. The do like a clop-clop kind of walk. Hence the real reason I don't wear heels that high. If I was light on my feet and could walk that graceful, then it would make sense to wear them. But I like to walk fast and without thought to my poor ankles. Also in the movie "The Birds", watch how Tippi Hedren gets out of a car and walks with full out poshness she carries herself to the doorway. Very cool.

Thanksgiving

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Headed out to my Uncle's place in PA to have the big turkey dinner. The weather was unbelievably warm, and the trees still had a lot of leaves. Usually it's freezing cold and the trees are totally bare. My Aunt thought we could have dinner outside, but the wind picked up and we decided to enjoy it inside. =)

That night I went out bowling with my Jersey cousin. What else is there to do in Jersey? Good times. Eventually by the 3rd game we were just tossing the bowling balls down the lane. Then they (my cousin and his buddy) played a game of Area 51 in the arcade. Which is silly cause at his place they have the Wii. LOL Went back to his parents place and ate some more of the yummy pumpkin cheese cake my (other) Aunt made. I did ok on the Wii, but I really should have my own to practice more on. Santa, do you hear me?!

On Friday did a bit of shopping then met up with a friend to see Beowulf. The animation of the movie was amazing. I didn't care for the story so much though. Maybe if we saw it in Digital 3D the experience would have been even better. Oh well. Finally got home late Friday night and was happy to see Marley alive and well. I missed him so.

Today I'm back to work. I'm thinking about that next big holiday meal at mom's place. Can't freakin' wait!

My So-Called Life

Enough about the cat... now other stuff happening in my life. Today I went for a sushi lunch for my buddy's birthday. It was so freakin' good! I love when sushi is that fresh and tasty. Tonight is my mid-term for Money and Banking class. Looking at it now, not fun.



Last week I got to see two theater shows. First was "Pygmalion" with Claire Danes. The show My Fair Lady is based on it. I liked it, but some of the scenes ran long and drawn out. The sets were very cool and lots of details. The 2nd show was "The Rise of Dorthy Hale". It was based on the true-story of a woman in the 1940s who committed suicide and then Frida Kahlo painted her portrait. The show was good, the actress who played Frida was in the movie "The Lady in the Water". She was very good, I like how she played the part.

Marley's progress

Early this morning I was greeted not with biting by a sleeping kitty in my bed. It was the 1st time Marley decided to grace me with his presence while I slept. He had been sleeping on the shag rug or my rug, never far from me, but not with me. It was really sweet and I'm glad he trusts me more than before. Of course he stretched out and slowly pushed me towards the edge of the bed. LOL! Can you imagine, he finds a warm spot and I get shoved off the bed!? =) His thing is to lay out on his back and put his paws in my face. And boy oh boy, he has some smelly breath. sigh

Per the suggestion of my cat knowledgeable friend, I started giving Marley L-Lycine in his breakfast. It is really helping with the crap in his eyes. Guess he had a virus, but even though it didn't get worse, it wasn't getting better.

The funny thing is, I think he has already gained another pound or two. When he trots now his little pouch swings side to side. Too damn cute!

Note about my allergies, they are doing way better now. A bit of it is because I got used to the cat and I think the air filter thingy is helping. I got a Honeywell True HEPA with a silent mode (low setting). It's in my room and I pretty much got used to the noise already. Haven't taken a Claritan in days now.

Feral Cat Saga

The feral cat saga in our neighborhood continues. Some with happy endings and some we are still working on.

Last week myself and 2 other ladies were out like 4 nights trying to catch three kittens. 1=black 1=gray 1=white with black spots The white with black spots, Stewy, was 1st caught. Totally friendly. Second was the gray one, Gizmo, but not so friendly. Finally another lady who had been feeding them got the black one, Underhill. They are all safe and sound.... doing well and hopefully will be adopted out.

Last night I helped a neighbor catch a pregnant feral in her backyard. She just had kittens, maybe like 3 months old and is already pregnant again. Poor thing. Her other older cat is also in the backyard, Jiro (second born son), we will catch him next. The trapping was quick since they were pretty hungry and willing to get close to us while we waited. Got to see the 3-month old kitten that is being adopted by another lady in their building. Cutest little puff of fur! He is black with one small white spot on his chest. His name is Shinju-chan, "cute little pearl" in Japanese. They named the mother cat Suiginmama, which means Mercury Mama.

Finally a cat was being dumped by a woman around the corner from my place. My friend caught the woman and basically grabbed the cat out of her hands. Today a call went into the ASPCA to report it. The poor cat was yowling and howling while the woman pulled it out of the carrier. The cat is about 3-4 years old and would never survive on the streets with winter coming. The cats in our hood already have their territories and would be tough for the new guy to get in. Plus he is fixed... no way to mark his area at all. Poor cat.
UPDATE: The ASPCA will be investigating the cat and the people trying to dump him. Hopefully it sends a strong message in our area about how wrong it is to dump a cat on the street. And the cat is friendly and being fostered at the moment.
UPDATE #2: The "Dumped Cat", DC, has found a great home. A real nice lady with a nice apartment near-by has taken him in. We are sooo happy that it all worked out perfectly in the end.

There have been a few cats who got adopted out to new homes. It helps when they get into loving homes and become wonderful pets (like Marley "the Monster")!