grey-green-eyed-and-furry

Yay! all done :)
I'm really happy I only had to stay awake one 24-hour period and not a week. That would be much, much harder. Yes.

Many thanks to all the people who made this event possible... it's great to see what happens when people pool their energies together...so much fun to be a part of it. My team was a blast, and it was a lot fun to visit others' blogs & checkout what they were doing. I definitely will plan on doing this again next year... but I think I'll make sure to get a decent night's sleep the night before.... I'm really clinging with my fingernails to consciousness... :)
Hope you'll visit me at my other blog - Marianne's Open Letter... it gets a bit dark there sometimes, but at least it's honest... ;)

Okay - home stretch...
I'm really feeling the burn... heh. Stomach upset, nose sniffly, feet swollen (they do that if I sit too long)... my focus keeps kind of going in and out. I'm perfectly sharp one moment, blurry the next...
I don't know how the people who didn't have teams the first couple of years made it through - the only thing that's kept me up like this is the almost constant interaction with the people on the team and the well-wishers who buzzed me throughout the day. Thanks to all of you who did that - I may have made it through on my own but it would have been even harder :D
Only one more post to go!!! WOOOOOOOdi HOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!

Woo hoo!!! Just about an hour to go -
Heh. Almost totally brain dead. So happy to have other places to post - it's keeping me awake - if I had to, you know, just hang out in between posting here, I wouldn't have lasted *half* this time - but as it is I'm feeling pretty alert... hope I can fall asleep when the time comes - I've drunk a *lot* of coffee ;)

Ambo would hate me... I"m schnurping.
I sneezed a bunch of times today - hope I'm not coming down with something... oh well. If I am I will get over it... I get to sleep soon! YAAAAAAY!!!
Dev's collecting pics from tonight of the people on our team... hee heee.... can't wait to see them... Apparently she has one of me doing "scary hair face" and "hat" (which wasn't a hat at all... couldn't find any of my warm weather hats... not that I really wear them... anyway, it was a scarf... can't remember the name for it but it's the thing you tie over the obi in a kimono...)

Wow! only about 2 hours left... I'm actually feeling pretty good, if a little zonked... must have hit a second wind - 'cos damn, a few hours ago I was kinda spacy - LOL!
I bet I'm going to sleep until about 11:30, maybe noon tomorrow - I'm not great at sleeping during the day, unless I'm *completely* exhausted - we're talking a couple of weeks of late nights & early mornings... hell, I'm not even sure I could do that any more - the last time I did that was in my early 20's... hmmmm....

Down to one section at our team blog - we finished up the other three - now just posting poems. Just headed over to the zefrank board for a little while and posted - hee hee - got my wish, a little - got to play with most of my favorite people! There are a few that I wish could have joined us, whose writing I really admire... but there was a wealth of riches today, and one can hardly complain about the dynamic... only one minor spat over the attractiveness of a truly adorable dog :)

LOL - there are, like, only four of us from the combined Zefrank team and the bipedal team who've lasted this far. How funny... It's like, I don't really think of leaving as an option... People have agreed to sponsor me for a certain amount of time... so I'm going to blog for that amount of time... But you know - I've always been that way. Also - I've pulled a number of all nighters - I wonder if there's a part of your brain that learns how to do that? I know that soldiers learn how to sleep standing up, build stamina by jogging for long periods of time, all kinds of rigorous physical exercise... then sleep for just a little while... then get up and do it all again... over and over. Makes one wonder...
Wow - my back and neck are pretty sore... I keep trying to stretch them out a bit - I have a feeling I'll be stiff for a day or so... but then I think, hey, I don't have cancer, you know? If I thought I could cure cancer by doing this for a full week - you bet I'd do it!!! No question. I'd do whatever it took... a little temporary discomfort for a fantastic payoff. Wonder if I could apply this philosophy to my daily life? One would think so...
I have all kinds of good advice for people. Lately I've been deciding not to give it so much... I realized it's sort of a controlling thing; you know, "This is how I think you should solve your problem"... but asked-for advice... very different thing... :)
Wheee!!!! only 3 hours to goooooo.... *laughs maniacally*

Wow. The quality of my posts is really diminishing... Which I guess is to be expected - However - I'm posting all over the damn place - LOL! Just posted in the daDA thread at the zefrank blog.... fun fun!

shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog shortblog
Sorry! just got caught up laughing at an argument I didn't realize was a real argument... jeez.
heh.
Some people take things seriously that other people don't. That is all.

sooo.... I've got a whole bunch of cd's... in different locations in my apartment. They're in sections by genre, alphabetically... classical, jazz, classical vocal artists, operas, singer/songwriters, Best Of compilations. And I've got a tower right next to me, the cds in which I end up listening to more than most, tho' I do listen to the others regularly.
Here's a list:

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Volume II
Babble - Ether (excellent sex cd, by the way... at least, it was last time I had sex... LOL!)
Beck - Odelay (I haven't gotten the new one yet... really need too... love it!)
Bettie Serveert - Dust Bunnies
Bjork - Post
Cake - Fashion Nugget
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads
Cibo Matto - Viva! La Woman
Cibo Matto - Stereotype A
Crowded House - Woodface
Dada - El Subliminoso
Death Cab for Cutie - Something About Airplanes
Duran Duran - Duran Duran
Duran Duran - Pop Trash
The Best of Brian Ferry
Finn Bros.
Mike Fonte - Starlight Exit
Lisa Gerrard - The Mirror Pool
Inspiral Carpets - The Singles
Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
Jane's Addiciton - Ritual de lo Habitual
Kirsty MacColl - Kite
Morrissey - Vauxhall and I
Mr. Bungle - Disco Volante
Tom Petty - Wildflowers
Pretty and Twisted
Psi Com (the band Perry Ferrel was in right before Jane's Addiction was formed)
Radiohead - The Bends
Radiohead - OK Computer
Radiohead - Kid A
Radiohead - Amnesiac
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief (can you tell - I just can't stand Radiohead)
REM - Green
REM - Eponymous
REM - Monster
Sex Pistols - The Great Rock and Roll Swindle
the Story - Grace in Gravity
Stone Temple Pilots - 12 Gracious Melodies
Stone Temple Pilots - Tiny Music for the Vatican
Tears for Fears - Greatest Hits
U2 - Joshua Tree
U2 - Achtung Baby

Red asked, "If you could redo one event in your life, what would it be?"
So difficult. So many... so many little choices, you know, that take one in a certain direction... The one that immediately popped up for me was breaking up with the one guy I'm sure I ever loved... and who loved me too. A *lot* of water's passed under the bridge since then...
*Or*, I might choose to have gone to college at USC from the getgo, or maybe even a college on the east coast, instead of starting out at Chapman College. I went there because my friends were going there, and I could live at home (which I ended up escaping from after a semester to live at college...) Who knows what I'd be doing now.
Oh well. At least my life isn't *boring*. :)

Top 5 movies:

Oh man. I have to pick 5...
Okay - I'll go with these - but there are a lot more -

Blade Runner (Director's cut)
Pi
South Park
The Young Poisoner's Handbook
Queen Margot

(and of course I just thought of, like, Pulp Fiction... Fight Club... Clockwork Orange... Oh Lucky Man... The Magic Christian...A New Leaf... too many great flicks out there

Top 5 things I want to change about myself:
Exercise more, consistently
Never jump to negative conclusions
Break up big projects into smaller chunks and take care of them day by day instead of leaving them until the last minute and freaking out! LOL!!
Fewer frivolous purchases; make do with less/simplify
Stop making things harder than they are

Some more top five lists:

Five favorite spices:

Cumin
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Cilantro (more an herb ;))
Basil

Top 5 individual singer/songwriters:
James Taylor
Paul Simon
Bjork
Kirsti MacColl
Beck

More good Red questions... Seriously - this is so helpful... :) She asked me to tell a story about hiding food I didn't want to eat when I was a kid - I've got a great one -
When I was little my mom used to make me hot oatmeal for breakfast. I liked oatmeal, but not every morning, and eventually I got really sick of it. I figured out pretty early that my mom isn't someone you can tell these things to... or something. A weird notion of a child's version of politess, I suppose. Anyway, one morning I decide to solve the problem of the unwanted oatmeal by hiding it in the pockets of my bathrobe.
Next laundry day, when my mom was going through my hamper, she reached into the pockets looking for Kleenex (I had allergies from a very early age) and came up with a handful of dried oatmeal goo. She called me into my bedroom. "What's this?" she asked, genuinely confused. I actually started crying, afraid I really blew it and was going to be punished.
The next day, I got *Cheerios* for breakfast. :)

oh man - The time is actually flying by - I keep forgetting to come back here :D
I'll do a better entry next time...

Red asks - did I ever read comics when I was a kid?
I did! But of course, all the girly ones. I'm assuming she's talking about comic books - not newspaper comics. I remember reading Nancy and Sluggo (good *grief* I wish I'd kept copies); Little Lotta (a superhumanly strong fat girl); Archie and Jughead... a little Superman thrown in for good measure. Can't remember too much else... I know I bought quite a few superhero comic books but I can't really remember which ones now... so long ago. The next time I even *noticed* comic books was in my late 20's when "Maus" was published, and all of a sudden all these comic book lovers seemed to spring up from everywhere... I really like "Squee" now :)

I say this because one of the accepted definitions of "art" is something that produces a strong emotional response in the person experiencing the work... But there's more to it; the songs are beautifully crafted; the members of the band are excellent musicians... there's something infinitely profound about what they bring; it's lean and solid and sharp as a razor.
Okay. I must take an aside now to warn you - 9 hours to go - and I have a feeling my posts will become more and more loopy... hee hee... but that's part of the fun I guess :D

So anyway... I'm listening to all their cds as I blog, and I'm struck by how very different each one is. Of course, there are things that don't change; the raw beauty and adaptability and drama of Thom Yorke's voice - a truly great communicator - able to deliver every shade of dark, light, ugliness, the ethereal, urgency, purity... the solidness of the band, the uniqueness of the arrangements... it's always there, on every track, dependably.
I would love to go into a song -by-song lovefest but I think I might want to write about other things tonight... hee hee....

DickieC wanted me to write about my favorite Radiohead song - but I can't pick one - it's like picking my favorite Debussy... all the songs from OK Computer on are so brilliant I can't really choose.
But I can tell you what I love about Radiohead. So many things... The music is, for this current period, as revolutionary as the music of the Beatles; it's music that takes everything to the next level, all inclusive. They started with a popular form, a punk/pop synthesis, and began to include more and more elements and techniques from "serious" music; the term "art rock" has been applied to it, which I know the band doesn't like because it sounds a bit pretentious, but it describes the music well... continued in next post...

Red wants to know why like designing jewelry.
Well - I like it for so many reasons... There's the process of picking beads... it's amazing. Time flies. It's like being in a candy store; so many kinds of beads; and I get inspired by them, especially seeing them together, the colors and the shapes and the textures, some shiny and gemlike, some bumpy and covered with sparkles, some like little creatures, some elegant and smooth and richly colored. One of my favorite things is sitting down by the big vat 'o' beads on the floor and fishing out matching beads; it feels like discovering treasure.

Then, there's getting them home and putting them into different patterns and actually making the jewelry. It can be meditative; it can also be very frustrating... but the result is usually something very pretty, sometimes even beautiful, that people can adorn themselves with (sometimes even me!).
Another great thing about it is that it keeps my hands busy, so I'm less tempted to eat! LOL!
Of course, lately, I need CASH! so my interest in making jewelry has skyrocketed... it's something I don't need to have a boss for... of course, I have to get very focused and sit down and make a buttload of it!!! and then I have to go out and sell it... But at least I have more control over whether or not I work, right?
All in all, it's a really satisfying thing to do... I'm happy I discovered it. :)

Sooo.... here's another recipe. I'm enjoying this as I blog, in cawfee... :D


Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur

1 1/2 cups of whisky, brandy, rum or rye
14 oz. can of sweetened condenses milk (not evaporated)
1 cup (half pint) heavy (whipping) cream
4 eggs
2 T chocolate syrup
2 tsp. instant coffee
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract

Two ways to do this: either put everything in a blender & let'er whirl, or by hand:

Pour the whisky in a large bowl. Add instant coffee and vanilla and almond extracts and whisk until the coffee's dissolved. Add the the chocolate syrup, then the condensed milk slowly, whisking it in completely, then add the eggs one at a time, whisking until completely incorporated. Pour into an airtight jar or bottle.
This will keep for quite a while in the fridge... serve over ice or in coffee. ;)

Okay- another short one - had to break to move around and make a little dinner - woo - nachos! yum yum yum.... :D

I finally started exploring music after I met and hung out with a couple guys who really enjoyed taking risks on buying cds, really exploring what was out there. One guy would read all the cd reviews he could get his hands on, and would scour used cd shops for the ones that were well reviewed but didn't rate high on the charts. He made me a few tapes of choice songs from them, which introduced me to a lot of new artists that I wouldn't have heard otherwise, some of whom have become favorites, like Kirsty MacColl and Los Lobos, and some whose names I've never gotten and wish I had... he's sort of drifted away. Also, I worked for awhile at Warner Bros. Records, and had access to all kinds of cds of bands the A&R guys were checking out (and some real crap too- LOL!) I discovered the music of Sarah McLaughlan long before she became popular, and Alanis Morrissette right before she exploded on the scene - I remember hearing the first cut on her first album and going, "Whoa - that's gonna be a hit!" Not that I love her music - hee hee... but I could hear what would appeal... So I got to experience the thrill of hearing someone who hadn't exactly been *fed* to me and make up my mind about it on my own - and I really enjoyed that.

I'm still not as adventurous as I'd like... I listen to a lot of my music on KCRW, because it's easy just to turn it on and know I'll find it interesting and enjoyable... but I've become more interested in hearing something new and unfamilar, being shocked or disturbed, a little confused and shaken up, truly emotionally moved and compelled to listen, than sticking with the tried and true... I've also become more discerning regarding lyrics, although there are times when minimal lyrics (as on Radiohead's Kid A) are most suitable.

But just the last year I compiled a buttload of all the music I loved growing up, throughout my childhood and adolescence, and put it all on an mp3 cd... It's funny; most of it all has this sort of narcotic quality to it; it's mostly quite mellow and lush and gentle and cuddly... almost all love songs - LOL! I enjoy listening to it once in awhile. I enjoy listening to everything, lately, once in awhile... :)

My favorites were the Police, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, and U2; I liked single songs by various other bands, like Ultravox and the Psychadelic Furs; but my likes and dislikes were still heavily attached to what was fed to me by the radio. I didn't really start selecting music for myself consistently until I was well into my late 20's; throughout my twenties I listened to a lot of classical music and jazz, but mostly artists that I was learning about in my classes.

Red wanted to know how my musical tastes have changed as I've gotten older. Goooooood question. :)
It's interesting... my parents played a really eclectic mix of music while I was growing up, and in preschool and kindergarten I was exposed to a lot of different things (*great* preschool in a lot of ways, like exposure to culture and crafts; not so much in others). So I loved classical music and rock equally, for a number of years. But I heard a lot of pop on the radio, growing up in the 70's, and that sort of became "my" music; it wasn't all that great, some of it, but my musical tastes weren't all that educated. I became a *huge* disco fan when I was a pre-teen; Saturday Night Fever was a huge hit (as was Star Wars) and the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb and Donna Summer were all over the radio. It was sexy music, and my little hormones were running wild - LOL!

A little later on I discovered heavy metal, and I was heavily into Led Zepplin, Ozzy and progressive rock bands like Yes, Rush and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer for awhile. My dad set aside Sundays for classical and jazz only listening, to make sure I got something else in my diet, but I didn't really embrace the music until I was a senior in high school. The last half of high school I loved all the modern bands, everything they played on KROQ... continued in next... :)

I just posted to the daDA thread at Ze's site... it's been awhile... I'm glad this happened... sort of a way to post there again without it seeming too weird...
I'll get back to some questions sooon... :)

Woo! I keep almost missing posting here - I get caught up in posting at the other and chatting with the team - It's a great bunch of people & we're having a good time; I think the key is everyone has a lot of respect for each other and knows we're all taking it pretty seriously... and I daresay some good stuff is coming up - but the most important thing is we're keeping each other good company. Man, I love these guys. :D
13 more hours!!!! wah. :D

Well... there's not much more I can think of about Los Angeles... If I got out more, I could probably tell you more. There's quite a night life, which I don't take part in; too broke and I'm not really a big bar person anyway, anymore. Lots of great restaurants... but, you know, same thing... There's a lot to do. Check out LA Weekly - it'll give you some great ideas...

I guess overall it's not a terrible place to live, and I have to say that for the most part, I've been lucky (*knocks on wood*). I'm also careful - LOL!

Entire streets being taken over and blocked by filmmaking crews is a regular occurence here; often you'll go somewhere were parking is already very difficult to find to see an empty street filled with meters marked "No parking except for film crew" or something like that. Makes one hate the industry just a little bit, in that moment...

Traffic, as I mentioned before, is often mind-boggling. This city is possibly the most poorly planned in terms of getting from one place to another; a trip that could potentially take about a half hour is regularly stretched into an hour and a half if you leave at the wrong time of day - which is any time after, like, 6:30 am - LOL! And while there are a number of okay drivers, there are quite a few that insist on being hasty impatient jerks, making the experience even more nerve wracking than it already is.

But for the most part the Armenian families are excellent neighbors... Families are very close and affectionate; the children tend to be well-behaved and kind, good in school... they love to create flower and vegetable gardens, and take pride in their homes. They're very hospitable; all the Armenian families that have lived in the apartment buildings here (there have been four so far) have invited me over for Turkish coffee (yum), dinner, vodka (LOL!)... when they have barbeques they sometimes bring me a little plate of food... One family assured me that Armenians are *just* like the Italians... I can see what they mean; they have big, warm personalities, don't use their indoor voices very often, love and support cultural events, and are generous in spirit. I feel a *tiny* bit isolated living here, since I'm older than most single Armenian women and feel a distinct air of pity emanating from my neighbors sometimes, but the benefits make up for it. ;)
Los Angeles is really huge... and the entire spectrum of economy and education is represented, which makes for some social challenges. I've rubbed shoulders with every type; as a student, I've had to make use of public transportation a lot of the time (which unlike in other cities, is almost exclusively ridden by people with low incomes, the elderly, and the mentally ill), and shop in, you know, the 99cent store... so I need to know how to fit in there; but as an opera performer, I have to know how to interact with the country club set. (Have to admit - I'm not perfect at either - but I've discovered that graciousness is usually translates best with anyone...)

Let's see... well, the entertainment industry pervades *everything* here. If you want to temp, your best bet is to hook in with an agency that caters to them; they pay the best and usually have work to be done. The only thing is... sometimes you have to put up with insanely abusive people; I don't know any other industry that keeps such people in their employ - but I know why; they're the ones that get things done, no matter what. And people *gotta* have their entertainment... it's as serious as brain surgery here, even the crappy shows; and the ones that produce are the ones that make it. Very cut-throat sometimes.

Dickie wants to know what it's like to live in California.
Sometimes it's great. It's especially great when I remember how hard it can be to live in other places that have real weather - LOL! It never gets too terribly cold here; no one ever dies by freezing to death (tho' I'm sure there are some Hollywood types that drink too much, pass out in their pools, and die of hypothermia) and it also *usually* only gets hot and/or humid enough to just be supremely annoying...
It's also great when one has the time to go visit the ocean or mountains around here... there are some really beautiful spots within an hour or so from here -
Also - you can find just about anything in the world here - from any country - good for you or bad for you - LOL! Food, clothing, crafts, music... drugs, porn... there's something for everyone - very much like any huge city, I guess...
Which leads me to the rest... sometimes it's very hard to live here. It can get overwhelming; the concentration of people here leads to extremes in behavior and personality. Some of the most beautiful souls can be found here, and some of the ugliest. If I go out into the world, I never know what it's going to be like from one day to the next... I may have one experience after another of kindness and generosity, or an unbroken stream of rudeness and selfishness (usually on the freeway - LOL)...
There are many, many different kinds of people here. The most obvious aspect, ethnicity, is as varied as if someone decided to transport a microcosm of the planet into one small space. Mostly one sees Caucasians and Latinos, with African Americans bringing up a close rear; there are many, many Asian countries represented, especially Chinese and Korean. My neighborhood is full of Armenians, which is overall very nice (except that some of the young guys are overwhelmingly obnoxious, driving their cars fast and crazy down residential streets).

ze_chuckie_egg: Time travel
ze_chuckie_egg: where would you go
ze_chuckie_egg: ?
ze_chuckie_egg: who would you meet? would you try to change anything... or would you go to the future
ze_chuckie_egg: mcFly???
ze_chuckie_egg: LOL

ohhhh.... that's tough too... Going into the future is always seductive.... especially right now... I would truly love to know what I need to do to redeem my current situation and end up better off... Maybe if I went ahead a few years I'd get some kind of clue, whether to continue what I'm doing or to strike out in a different direction...

However, if I went into the past (my own past...) I could maybe make different choices, maybe be a different kind of person... tho' I think maybe Chuckie was talking about a more distant past, before I existed...
If I could retain full knowledge from my current time, I think I'd definitely want to go into the past, make different choices. I was so unaware of my potential when I was in my early 20's... I'd work much harder at my singing, not be so scattered, take advantage of the opportunities that I had back then, when I was fresh and young, and people who were in a position to help me would percieve me as being someone more worthy of their aid... Now I have my past to contend with, and my poor choices... my reputation.

I know that I still have opportunities ahead (I hope!) but the challenges are greater - I'm having to work against a great deal of, you know, *stuff*. Just like everyone. Sometimes I wish I could just chuck everything and settle into something boring but lucrative... but I think it would kill me. Ack! So onward, forward, upward!!! :D

Just time for a quick one - gotta eat! :)

Let's see... taking a look at the list...
Red asks, "If you could be a fly on the wall, where would you be?" Well - the first thing that popped into my head was the Oval Office, to try to figure out what the heck Bush thinks he's doing. And I'd love to somehow end up on the wall of the guy that I'm eventually going to meet & marry... wherever he is... to get to know him a little... figure out how to find him... :)

Hmmm... low blood sugar does not make for good blogging. Food, now. :)

He mewed hysterically, and he really was hysterically frightened, but I held him gently but firmly, settled him into the warm water I had ready, and soaped him up. It took a couple washes, but I finally got all the fleas off him, except the ones embedded in his ears, rinsed him off, and wrapped him firmly in some towels. Then I sat there with my little captive and pulled every single flea out of his ears and sent them down the drain. The kitten no longer struggled, and, shockingly, began to purr!!!

I don't know if it was that he was more warm and comfortable than he'd ever been in his life, but from that moment on (I kid you not) he was much less afraid, and eventually began to cry for me if I left the bathroom for too long. I kept him in there for a few days, and finally, when he seemed totally relaxed, I brought him into my bedroom, and slowly introduced him to my other cats. Merlin liked him just fine (he was still very kittenish) but Arthur took *years* to warm up to him (Arthur's great with humans, terrible with other cats).

There's not much more to tell... The priest I was going to give him to told me he realized he didnt' have time for a pet; I was going to give him to another priest (LOL! a coincidence) at a different church - but he took so long deciding when would be a good time to bring the kitten into his home (he wanted to spend a lot of time with him so they bonded - and he took *months*!) I ended up falling in love with the little guy, who, of course, is Schroeder. He was the sweetest, silliest little grey klutz you could ever hope to meet; totally loving, totally accepting, friendly and gentle and affectionate with all humans and all cats, if a little shy sometimes.

He's just one of my favorite "people" in the entire world... the best kitty ever... I do love my others, but every day I can't believe how lucky I am to get to spend his life with him. :)

The history of my dear little Schroeder... He's the kitty who's pic is gracing this blog, and who my blogging is dedicated to today :) My third kitty, of 5 (4 full-time and 1 part-time... the fifth never really completely de-ferilized... is that a word? hmmm).

Schroeder was one of the kittens from the next-to-last litter I tried to rescue. I already had Merlin and Arthur, but I had been feeding the stray kitties out back... there were a few strays, including one especially beautiful, small female, a grey-striped tabby with large light aqua eyes. I tried to make friends with her, in order to get her to trust me enough for me to take her to a vet clinic I knew of that would spay or neuter kitties and get them to no-kill shelters (it eventually became too overwhelming for them and they discontinued the service, unfortunately... too many strays, not enough people who care...). But she had too many bad experiences, I guess, and never warmed to me. I managed to make friends with a number of her kittens, though, and get them to the vet.

Apparently, one of my neighbors complained about the fact that I was feeding the cats (typical of people to complain rather than help), and my landlord forced me to stop. I watched the tabby become thinner and thinner... it really killed me but I didn't know what to do. She had another litter, only two kittens, or maybe only two survived... an orange striped one and a grey one. They were fine for a bit, but also began to become very thin. Eventually the orange kitten starved to death, leaving the mother and the grey kitten.

You can imagine how I felt. I hated myself, and I hated my landlord. One day I decided I was going to catch the mother, however I could, and get her to the vet to be fixed... at least she would never have another litter that would starve. I went outside with my cat carrier and a can of tuna, and put the open can of tuna inside the carrier, hoping the mother would go inside. Well, I didn't get her - she was too smart (although if she really knew what was good for her she would have gone inside) but the grey kitten went in. I decided then and there I'd get him healthy and give him to the priest at the church I was singing at (I'm not Catholic but I sing in a lot of churches ;))

I cleaned my bathroom until it was spotless and brought the little kitten inside. He was so frightened I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head, and covered with fleas; they were embedded in his ears and neck, and his little tummy was bloated with hunger. I went into the bathroom every hour to try to get him used to me; it really wasn't working tho', and I knew I had to get him bathed or he'd be eaten alive.
Finally I just realized - I'm a lot bigger than him and it would be worth a few scratches to have him clean and healthy. Armed with many fluffy towels and some nice strong but gentle flea soap, I went in the bathroom and cornered the little guy.

If I had the wings of a buzzard
A buzzard
Into the woods I would fly
Would fly!
There to remain as a buzzard
A buzzard
Until the day that I die -
I die!

Chorus!
Oo la la oo la la oolala
Repeat
Oo la la oo la la
Again
Oo la la oo la la oolala
Once more -
Oo la la oo la la la.
The End.

Awwww man!!!! ARGH! okay - well - I have to do a few now - I got caught up in the post I'm doing at the Team Blog - Project 3 is turning out to be something very special.... no more mistakes!!! I promise...

I wonder if the people in China think it's unpleasant to be there. Because, you know, when you've been living a certain way your whole life, maybe you're used to it.... and again, I don't know really what it's like there now... but I imagine it's sharing small spaces with a large family, not asserting your personality... I knew a girl from China when I was in college, who had only been in the US for a few months, for the first time... the kind of sexual repression, for example, sounded like something from the Victorian era, maybe even a little more restricted than that....she told me kids would sneak off to have sex, and if they got caught, horrible things would happen...

Okay... I guess I don't have anything else to write about Europe... I'm glad I'm doing this because it makes me realize I know very little about other countries, other than the PBS shows and movies I've seen and the people I've met in college and after... I'm thinking this is a skewed perception, because I only know from, you know, the cream, or what's projected as the cream... the bright kids who come to America for college, the shows and magazines that show smiling, happy faces and the finest cuisine each country has to offer. I know nothing of the everyday, just as people who dream of living in America often know nothing of the everyday challenges they'd face if they came here.

Hmmm... China seems like, compared to here, it would be awful. Very few personal rights, very little privacy; crowded. Colorful, yes, and educational - such an ancient culture would be fascinating.

madmack1966: Write a first person observation about what you think it would be like to live on each of the 7 continents..
madmack1966: or in other countries..
madmack1966: talk about perceptions..
madmack1966: preconceived concepts..

Wow... this is prolly going to need a couple of posts...
I guess I'll start with Europe. From what I've heard (and this is a combination of perceptions and preconceived concepts, since I haven't done a great deal of research) I think I'd love it there, because it seems that culture is so deeply rooted in daily life. It seems like enjoyment is an important part of life, as opposed to acquisition - and so much to enjoy. I have an idea that most countries where people have lived so long, they've figured things out about the environment and how to live with each other. Of course, this can't be completely valid, because, I mean, look at Israel... but from everything I've heard, tho' things are older and maybe not as pristine, maybe less of an availabililty of, you know, everything, like here in Los Angeles - that what there is is of the best quality.
Also - I think I'd get along with the men better. All the European guys I've met are so much easier to talk to than most American guys - more comfortable with themselves, more relaxed. And the women are usually a lot more laid back and realaxed too - less attached to appearances...
I've heard it's a little more difficult to get things done - very few supermarkets - LOL! but I would be living among these *buildings* and nature... it would take a loooooong time for that to get old....:)

ze_chuckie_egg: hmmm.... what you'd do if you were invisible for a day??
Wow. That's hard to say. Part of me wants to say - I'm not sure I'd do anything differently... of course there's always the opportunity to go steal stuff :D but I honestly wouldn't want to do that... I'd probably sneak into a show, maybe the Pantages; maybe into some classes at Art Center... maybe I should read "The Invisible Man" and get some ideas...
I think I'd rather be able to fly for a day. Much more useful. :)

hee hee... Schroeder's so cute... every day he yowls for the sock drawer to be opened. He only stays in it a little while, usually, especially when the weather's warm. All the kitties love the sock drawer. Is it because it smells like my feet, a little? They love my shoes too... And they all get excited when I run the water in the sink in the bathroom. What is it about that? Hmmmm....
It's getting very warm - I'm probably going to have to bring a fan out here...

red: What is the oldest thing you have?
It's a stool. My parents had it before I was born. I remember, when I was a tiny little doodle, sitting under and inside it... the seat is a square with rounded corners, beveled, about 1 1/2 inches thick, with 4 sturdy carved legs held together with dowels. It started out lemon yellow, but when I was about 12 or 13 I painted it white and added a rainbow with a pot of gold on the end of it and a butterfly, and painted the legs with different colors at intervals on the carved surfaces. When I was 14 I used it to defend myself - didn't actually have to use it, just let the attacker know I would if necessary. It worked.

I took it with me at some point - I think maybe when I was older, my late 20's. It's served as a kitchen stool and an end table... right now it's a TV stand in my bedroom. I think someday I'll paint it again... but maybe not. The decorations on top are childish, but charming... a little bit of my history.

The only other thing I have that might be older are the pearls my great-grandmother gave me when she passed away. The strand broke a few years ago, and I restrung them, but not as well as I would have liked - I think I'll restring them and maybe add some gems intermittently... a plain string of pearls seems too conservative to me now...I wonder why that is? I just prefer smaller, more delicate things... but these are lovely pearls... I guess the reat thing about beads is, you can always use them over and over... :)

For moN - a couple of Top 5 lists: - first, top five bands:
In no particular order ('cos it really depends on my mood) -

Radiohead
Beatles
Steely Dan
Pink Floyd
Fleetwood Mac

Top five cuisines:

Italian
Japanese
Greek
Thai
Mexican

Okay - this is a short one - just got some upsetting news - I couldn't get any financing to go back to school so the only way I can go is if I come up with over $2,000 in cash every month for a year, or find a scholarship, pronto.

Sometimes I really hate my life.

DickieC wants to know about "The Best Day of My Life So Far". That's kind of hard... I've had some good ones. :) Some bad ones too... but haven't we all... ;)

Hmmm. Well - one of them was my 30th birthday. My family likes to really whoop it up on the 5's and 10's, and for awhile there, I was having combination Christmas and birthday parties. So this was a big one. I invited all my friends, most of my family, and even friends I knew through my mom... everyone I could think of. I cooked and cleaned for a couple of days before; got a little Christmas tree and put a few decorations on it. One of the things I ask people to do and these "Christmas-slash-birthday-bash"es is to bring an ornament for the tree - so there are ornaments from years past and then the new ones go on.

Well - a ton of people showed up. I was in heaven... drinking red wine... sitting and talking with, surrounded by all the people I loved... they were eating the food I made and all talking and laughing with each other... We took lots of pictures... everyone brought me gifts (even though I told them they didn't have to...) My friend Bill bought me a whole set of excellent quality shiny stainless steel pots and pans... a photographer friend of my mom's gave me a beautiful print of a photograph she'd taken of a hill in California covered with flowers...someone gave me beautiful blown-glass wine glasses with blue bubbles in the stems... And everyone talked and laughed and ate some more...

All too soon it was over. But I was left with a warm glow that stayed with me for days afterward... And, of course, my apartment was nice and clean for a little while!!! :D

Okay - monsterofNone wants to know how to make a perfect omelette.

To be honest - a good non-stick pan makes a *huge* difference - a Celeron or similar type is great, with a cover. For each omelette, use 3 eggs. Beat 'em with a fork or a whisk... add a little milk, maybe a couple tablespoonsful... salt and pepper... maybe a little garlic powder if that floats your boat.

Chop up some stuff to put in your omelette. Ham, peppers, onions, tomatoes, avocadoes... any or all... and grate some cheese (I love aged cheddar). If you like, sautee the filling separately in another pan before adding it to the omelette.

Heat the pan up on a medium lowish flame. Here's another clue - don't skimp on the butter, and use *butter*, not margarine or "spread" (which has water in it and cooks weird). Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in the pan. When it's melted, pour your eggs into the middle of the puddle of butter, so the butter gets spread out to the edges of the eggs. Cook until the bottom is set, and just the top is a bit runny. Sprinkle your filling all over the omelette, top with cheese, and cover. Turn down the flame to low, and let it cook for about 3 to 5 minutes. Take the cover off - the eggs should be fully cooked - fold the omelette over with a spatula, and slide it onto your plate. You can sprinkle more cheese on if you like... mmmmmmmmmmcheeeeeeeeeeeese. :)

So - Red (a.k.a. Eleanor - and a dear heart she is) asked me about a lot of memories. Here's some of what she asked:

red: maybe what your earliest memory is?
red: what your favorite toy was and why?
red: did you have a favorite lunchbox?
red: maybe the whole lunchtime experience as a kid
red: school lunch
red: brown bagging it
red: fav lunchboxes
red: what you wanted in lunch and what you got

I think my earliest memory, or at least one of them, is actually in the crib - LOL! Crying for my mom to come back... one time I remember being done with a nap and looking out the window & my mom was sunning herself on the lawn...

My favorite toy was Rocky Raccoon - a big stuffed raccoon that my parents gave me when I was 3 (I think). I did everything with Rocky - we had tea parties - we danced - he kept the monsters away at night. One day, I realized Rocky was getting a little threadbare, and in my infinite 4-year-old wisdom I thought if I *washed* him, he'd come back to his previous glossy glory. Well - my mom ended up having to throw the sodden toy out - I mourned him for weeks - my parents actually took me to a therapist 'cos they were worried about me - LOL! But instead of therapy they opted for finding another Rocky... which I had until I was about 11. I never made *that* mistake again... :)

My favorite lunchbox was a Snoopy lunchbox, yellow and shaped like his doghouse... man I wish I had that lunchbox today... although it'd be pretty scratched up!!

I always wanted chips and Hostess goodies in my lunch... I don't think I usually got them but I remember friends sharing them with me, when I was brown bagging it... But I think I mostly ate the school lunches - I remember Sloppy Joes and beef hash being my favorite... and the pickled beets being my *least* favorite. I mean, come on! What were they thinking? What kid eats pickled beets? I don't mind them too much now, as part of a salad... but back then, they seemed uggsome. Bleh.

Let's see.... Oh! Big childhood memory... I was about 4. My mom had chocolate and she wouldn't share it. She kept it in the fridge, in the top on the side drawer. One day, my mom wasn't looking - so I got a chair and climbed up on it and got the chocolate and ate almost all of it. My mom came into the kitchen. "Did you eat my chocolate?" she asked. "No...." I said. "What's this on your face, then?" she said, and opened the fridge to find the almost empty box. Then she ran to the phone. "Hello?!" she said urgently. "My four-year-old daughter has eaten almost an entire box of Exlax!!!"

Just the sight of the black coffee with raw egg in it was enough to make me throw up... but it wasn't quite soon enough. Many of the ensuing week's trips to the pool had to be cut short to deal with the lingering effects of my mom's chocolate.

Little Marianne had a watch
She swallowed it one day
And so she took some Exlax
To pass the time away
The Exlax refused to work
The time refused to pass
So if you want to know the time.....


Just ask Marianne. :)

Okay - so I'm going to *attempt* to write about some of the topics people gave me :) I was worried I'd run out of things to write about, but it's more a time issue -

Red asked me a bunch of childhood memory things - I need to go post to the other blog but I'll work on a good juicy post for my next one that will include a few of her questions....

Wow - the time really goes fast... of course, I'm blogging for two blogs - both this one and the team blog at the left - and we're all on Yahoo Chat - I don't know how they're all writing so much in Yahoo when they're supposed to be blogging! LOL!!!

Okay - the cam's not working - so if you want to see me - get yourself a Yahoo Messenger and add me - I'm "lapietrachicanta" :) Then click on my link - I have my webcam up -
Oh well... :)

Good morning!

It's just before sunrise and I smell damn good... on a whim I put on some perfume I haven't worn in awhile (Maxim's of Paris)...yummy!! It's a good morning perfume... :) reminds me of elementary school!

Getting ready for tomorrow... ohboyohboyohboy!!! :)