Genesis 9:7
As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.

You know how there is always that weird 'uncle' you sometimes see at parties and get togethers. The one that doesn't talk much, who mostly watches and listens and will only speak when spoken to. I always wondered about that 'uncle' and wondered how his home life was and if he were happy. Of course he wouldn't be there if he didn't have a wife and since I know his kids, he must obviously get it on. He's the uncle you smile nicely to and say 'hello' and that's that. I always wondered why we didn't see him that much at parties but his wife's usually there, and she's usually very talkative and outgoing.

Then last night, at Rich's sister's wedding, I realized that I was married to the weird 'uncle'.

I was slightly taken aback by the concept because he's my Rich and he's not weird with me, but I had to see it and imagine through other peoples' eyes. He has nieces who don't say 'hello' and I mostly do the talking for the both of us and I think people have to guage him before coming up to talk to him while I try to be inviting.

I really had to put on a charm and beauty storm yesterday just so that we were noticed. But I guess being a mixed couple, it's not that hard to get noticed. But it doesn't hurt to have a fabulous dress on either. Heads turned, cameras flashed, I was mobbed and adored, kissed and admired.

What were we talking about again?

Yadada, I'm married to the weird 'uncle'. You can come over to the house, he'll most likely be hiding out in the room working on the computer, I'll be the one entertaining and making food. I like my life, I like that he does dance with me, and I like that we look so in love because all he ever talks to is me and of course I just turn my pretty little face and eyes and think to myself 'dazzle and shine!' and so I always can be caught looking at him adoringly or at least captivated by what he's telling me, so that his telling me that we should go home looks as if he's spilling his most cherished secret into my ear.

We sat with the long-time married couples and it was a lovely setting. The food was meh to ew and the ceremony burnt my retinas because it was outdoors and the sun was to our left, shining brightly in all its glory. But the whole place was nicer than expected, we took an elevator ride to the 18th floor and since it was glass we saw all of Orlando spread out before us, in a beautiful sunset.

At least Rich is just the weird 'uncle' not the creepy one. The creepy one that insists on riding with you on an elevator, the one that doesn't even say one word to his wife all evening because he's 'busy' going around taking pictures of everyone and everything. I wouldn't have my kids even say 'hello' to the creepy one. He's too nice and he drinks way too much, he and his wife don't dance, let alone sit together, and his wife's a bitch and she drinks way too much as well. You know something's wrong in that marriage.

So now that I've thrown stones I just have to add that I don't think his sister's marriage will last that long. I give it another 4 years, unless they get pregnant. But then she can just remarry to my heart's content because that gives me a wedding to attend and buy a new dress for!

Always end on the up note eh?

Me.

P.S. What's with asking me about the food and preparation as if I made it?
I told you goat cheese was yucky.

Angry People Hurt Their Hearts

I HATE. HATE. HATE. angry people. I know that by saying this I am being sort of hypocritical because hate is anger, but they make me hateful.

Why would you yell at someone? Yelling makes me shut down and not want to help you. I'd rather just punch you in a vulnerable spot and kick you while you're rolling around, instead of smiling and directing you and wishing you all good intentions. Anger stresses everyone out, so why do it? And because I will not yell back or hit or walk off I tend to hold it in and then probably stress myself out even more and later, at a convenient time will cry it out.

I HATE crying. I think it is weakness and frustration at not being able to physically harm someone. The natural reaction to anger is aggression but due to certain circumstances aggression is not the way to go, just in a self preservation standpoint but also probably in a legal standpoint.

So what do I do? I breathe, count, draw, pace and see it humorously. Then I wish them nothing but ill will and pray that God gives them nothing but a cruddy life. Then I take it all back knowing that it's just bad karma to do so, so I just figure they already have bad lives and that's why they are angry.

I still imagine bashing in their heads. I need a safety spot.


Me.

P.S. This post is not about Rich. He is not an angry person.

Michelle's Not So Scary

When I was younger, New York's WPIX, which was just plain old channel 11, used to play a scary movie every night in October leading up to Halloween. It was called "Shocktober" and it was way better than Octoberfest. Every night I would watch the first 30 minutes of American Werewolf In Paris, Gremlins, Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween and Friday the 13th. Then I'd have to go to my room for bedtime. It was great because they had station edits and so it wasn't so foul-mouthed or gory but it creeped me out big time.

Now we don't have anything of that sort but the travel channel likes to spook people out with Englishmen holding seances and going down dark paths all in infrared. What scares me the most are their inverted green eyes and their gaunt faces.

I like a good scare once in a while but I am never brave enough to do it in the dark anymore. Now I am covered in sheets in the middle of the day, fast forwarding through the really scary parts.

Wimp.

Halloween is my second favorite 'holiday' after Festivus.

Me.

Michelle, The Employee

I work at the airport. I hate it. Everyday is like a little death.

I take it back. I used to hate it, it used to feel like a little death everyday. Then I found out my fat is a good floatation device, so instead of being submerged in the sea of tedium and menialness, I am bobbing around making new friends, disliking a whole bunch of new people and exploring my surroundings. My bouyancy always surprises me.

The airport seems huge at first but it's really quite small. Only one real level of openness and space. There are a few floors of exploration and it helps to have a hotel there as well. Sometimes I ride up and down on the glass enclosed elevators and watch the busy people running around, or sleeping on benches, or greeting their loved ones waiting for them on the other side.

This job gives one a great sense of being a fly on the wall and I sometimes think that I am truly invisible.

So what will you be for Halloween?

Me.

Belated

Whoa, it's been ten days since my birthday. A big thank you to all who sent me wishes and greetings and thoughts!

Since I had to work, my actual birthday was quiet and uneventful. Prior to my birthday I went out to two restaurants. One with the in-laws and the other with the reason why I even have in-laws. Those were good. After my actual birthdate, I received presents and cards and I think I won Mike's "ipod debacle" and now am in possession of a 60 GB ipod with video screen. I am totally in like with it. I bought it a sleek skin so that I may wear it strapped on my arm as I go to use the gym equipment. ipods cause deafness. I am not deaf yet. Although I did receive an off-handed song of happy birthday from my mother, left on my cellphone messages. She's too funny.

Onto other things.

The other day (yesterday) whilst at the supermarket (duh) I observed a child eating one of those vanilla wafers, no not Nilla Wafers, but those rectangular, crispy wafers, filled with vanilla cream in the middle. The child, a male of the species, ate it how I would eat it, carefully lifting the top layer off with his top teeth, taking a small bite and then waiting til it melted in his mouth before giving an off-handed chew and swallowing, continuing the process with the next layer. The top layer was always my favorite. Now why is that? I thought and thought about it and I came up with the conclusion that it reminds me of the Host. The body of Christ wafer that you march solemnly up to the altar for, holding your hands cupped before you, as the priest placed it into your palm, said what it is he says and then you say "Amen" and do the sign of the cross. Hands must be left hand atop of right so that right will be the hand that then sweeps from underneath, removes the wafer from the left and deposits it into mouth. I also do the same with KitKat bars.

Is it odd and sacrilegious to relate eating a vanilla wafer to having the Body of Christ in one's mouth?

Happy Birthday to Me.

P.S. Does anyone know or remember what it is the priest whispers as he places the bit in your mouth?

P.P.S. They use to place those in your mouth and not your hands because it would be almost gross to have such lowly people touching the body of Christ. Those old ladies at Church still have that done.

Happy Birthday!

Hey just wishing my brother, Michael, a happy 20th birthday!!!

And I'm Proud To Be An American...

On Saturday I decided that I needed to go to the Victoria's Secret Body Shop at the nearby mall and pick up more of my favorite lotion. I like to go, as with grocery shopping, bright and early, so as soon as the mall opened I was there. I always feel so odd going into Victoria's Secret, especially when their store is both the lotions and lingerie store, however, my mall deemed it worthy to break it up into two so I didn't need to look as if I were buying lingerie for that special mate, or myself, though the state of my undergarments are not to be desired, but that's for another day... ooh, nice long rambling sentence.

In the store I dab this and that on my hands, trying to look as if I'm interested or undecided on what to buy, even though we all know I know exactly what I want. I'd rather that they had the bottles where you opened them and sniffed instead of attaching a lotion pump so that I'm forced to pump it into my hands. The little signs say 'play with me' on the bottles. Cute. Anyway, after a few minutes I snatch up the body butter, instead of the lotion, because it looked as if it would make my skin more buttery (bad mistake, by the way, but it's all in the smell, it actually does make me feel more buttery) and walked out of the store smelling like a thousand fields of Heaven, Lavender, Pink Buttercream Frosting, Strawberries and Cream, and Lust.

I walked around the mall and a big banner caught my eye, it was from Auntie Anne's pretzel kiosk. They were giving away free pretzels from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I've never had an A. A. pretzel before and was tempted to get a nice cinnamon one but I felt that 10 o'clock in the morning was not appropriate time for cinnamon pretzel eating. However, I did approach the counter and asked if they were insane, or words to that effect. They replied that it was just a promotional thing they were doing. So I rushed out of the mall so that I could drive home to tell Soobee.

Walking to the car I looked around and saw three beautiful boxer dogs running on the strip of grassy ditch that separated the mall from the highway. They were too far away to see if they had any tags on. One dog was in the lead, running and running, but the middle one stopped and was looking around in the grass, which caused the third one to stop and look around as well. The lead dog turned to check if they caught up and realized that they had stopped, so he/she turned and went back to the others. They then muddled around conferencing and I think the middle one pointed out the nice shrubbery in the ditch, just before the fence, and all three of them made their way into it. Now they were in the ditch so I couldn't see them any longer, so I got into the car and drove closer to the ditch, and saw all three of them huddled under the shrubs resting or hiding. I then drove home.

We never got the pretzels.

Me.

When the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

Today, as I was going for my daily drive around the neighborhood, I realized that the older I get the more afraid I am of doing things, the closer mortality seems.

I wonder if the closer I get towards death in age will I not feel scared of dying, in fact coming face to face will I be brave and embrace it like a long lost friend? As if I could cash in the years of dread for that single moment or gradual acceptance and anticipation of what is to come.

I was driving, safely, just at the speed limit, not minding that someone passed me and thought that at sixteen I was so far from death that I never even thought of it, I would speed down a boulevard, passing all the over-20-year-olds, laughing and singing at the top of my lungs, swerving this way and that.

Now the danger in things jump out at me and I try to be careful when I drive, softly cursing people who could endanger this vessel that should keep me for another 50+ years.

I'm feeling the birthday blues and have lived too long with people who worry too much.

Me.

Rewiring

I have apparently lost or never been taught the art of feminine guile and charm. I've been butting heads with Rich and myself, creating a lot of ill feelings for both me and others. It's been an ongoing thing these years, stemming from childhood.

Mom and Dad would both shake their heads sadly and say I just didn't know how to manipulate people, or I didn't know how to be a 'politician' (mom's words) and would tell me to go over to someone and say 'oh auntie so and so that is a very nice dress you're wearing' and in some way make nice for future favors or something of that sort.

So today, after some review, I drove over to local bookstores and purchased a few books. One is on the art of flirting, and how to use it to get what you want. The other one basically boils down to the same thing. I've started reading the flirting book and am a quarter of the way through and I have to admit that it is common sensical and easy to read and can actually help me. It's great!

So I'm off to read it, but you already knew that since you're a smart and adept reader.

Me.

No Wonder My Mom Uses Fabric Softener Sheets

So, I'm walking out of our local Publix (supermarket) with a cheery smile on my face, it was a lovely morning, sunshiney and not yet too hot. I had had a pleasant time there with the workers smiling and greeting me and not too many people about since it was a Tuesday morning. I said 'hello' to everyone and was having a good old time.

As I was walking to my car I looked at my reflection in the driver's window and noticed something dangling from my shirt. When did I don a loin cloth, outside of my jeans no less? (I was wearing an old brown shirt that once was Mike's and a pair of jeans.) I looked closer and finally looked down at myself and saw to my horror that I had one of my knee high stockings clinging from under my shirt by sheer force of static electricity. It hung down onto my jeans like a used, old, brown condom stuck to me.

Chalk it up to embarrassing moment of the day.

Me.

The Spree/Live It Up

Two nights ago Rich and I went to Cirque de Soleil (circus of the sun), La Nouba, and we had a very close view. It was wonderful. It was an endless parade of characters and music, sights and sounds. It was as if I had fallen into a dream and nightmare at once, where there were a few instances of things I had seen throughout the day, and odd U.S.S.R.-ish men and women dancing and haunting music, some fairly scary bald-headed man who hobbled and wobbled in all his spandex muscular glory. It was like an interplay of work/reality and dreams/fantasy. I was enthralled the whole show. I have to say that what really added to it were our seats, we were part of the show and the scariness was that factor that we might just get bashed in the head or landed upon by a flying man. Excellent.

Me.

What About The Handicapped Ones?

You, faithful reader, already know that I go to the supermarket early in the morning, and I love doing it. To tell the truth I go to about 6 different ones. I compare prices, produce, workers, atmosphere and most of all I like to people watch.

Today, what struck me was handling. I think your skills maneuvering a shopping cart is a reflection of your driving.

One woman, older, frenzied, 'cut' me several times, rushing to something I was headed to, stopping before me, then I'd move on only to have her race behind me and cut me once more. She had a sleek, well-oiled cart.

Then there were the mothers with the babies, too busy yelling at their children, not looking where they were going, and feeling very entitled. They drove the SUV's of the store, those huge metal carts attached to those big plastic cars where the kids can ride inside. They would come out of an aisle without even checking if anyone was coming by.

There were a few people who didn't seem to care at all, their carts were the old, rusty types whose wheels were misaligned and caused them to swerve up and down the aisle, they had bad food in their carts as well. They were the ones who hit other people and their carts with their own.

Then there were the 'environmentalists' who didn't use carts, preferring baskets, so as not to take up too much space, they kept to the fruits and vegetables aisle, stopping to ascertain whether the fish was edible. They were also aware of other people around them. They usually were in the 10 items or less aisle.

Once in a while I'd see signs of 'aisle rage' where one person would be stuck behind a slow moving person. The enraged person would then zoom ahead only to slow down and meander just so the person behind him would be stuck behind him now.

Which supermarket driver are you?

Me.

Summer Reading List

I loved summer reading in school. I might have been the only one who did. I think it's because it was never an obstruction to my summer habits since it was just that, a summer habit (as well as a fall habit, a spring habit and winter habit). I loved (and still do) to read and was always grateful for someone's recommendation on what to read. In college I went to the first day of my English classes in anticipation of the wonderful syllabus that would list all of my new friends, by name and author. Most of the time I read them long before the class ever got to them which afforded me a second reading when we finally did.

Now do you know why my, at once favorite and hated episode of the twilight zone is: "Time Enough At Last"?

Just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife a few days ago and I highly recommend it. Not just highly recommend but almost beg you to read it. It was good, very good. And so you ask, what was it about? Well, it was about a time traveler and his wife and it made me cry and feel badly, it was wonderful.

I have a few more books on my summer reading list, and I've begun The Amateur Marriage, which is starting off delightfully, if slowly, since I'm still reeling from the one above. I have Wicked on my list, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and Brick Lane. I'll keep you posted on whether you should finish your last remaining summer days with any one of these. Peace out.

Me.

Hook'd On Fonix

I don't speak tagalog well but I understand it, well mostly. However, I have dreams where I speak tagalog fluently and answer everyone with it.

I just recently had a dream where I was arguing with some woman in a store and I got upset and actually cursed her out in tagalog. That strikes me as odd in two ways, first I don't argue with people and second I don't even know any tagalog curses. It fascinates me that I can jabber away in tagalog in total confidence, as it is I am barely able to communicate. Which reminds me of how Uncle Art, Uncle Lito and my dad sang a song in tagalog, as a serenade and I understood most of it but had some trouble with a few words that are not part of my vocabulary.

When I have the time I will learn tagalog and learn to read it too. I'm terrible with reading the double vowels and what does 'ng' sound like and mean?

Me.

So we're married...again.

Wow, I knew long before the event that the time would fly, but I wasn't prepared for how fast it went. All I remember is that later that same day we were pedaling for our lives on surrey bikes. It's always strange to do something different from something big because it divides it in your mind and makes both instances seem so far from one another. All I know is I walked down the aisle then I was biking frantically, panting and half hysterical. It seemed as though they were different days in a different year, in a different lifetime. We ended the evening, sitting on the balcony, watching fireworks, stuffing our faces with wedding cake (the one we were supposed to save for our anniversary) and listening to the sounds of the people and music from below. It was perfect.

Write soon,

Michelle

Only one month until the wedding!

Are you ready??

Just One Of Them Days

It's raining hard outside. We've been dealing with non-stop reports of brush fires everywhere in Florida, and one quite close to home. Because of the last few months of dry weather they start up like nothing, however, I think we're in another part of the cycle, which is rain. I believe all the smoke and debris that's flown into the air from the fires has actually caused it to rain. This is much needed if not entirely depressing. I woke up wondering why in the world my body wanted me to wake up at such an ungodly hour, then I realized that it was dark because of the grey clouds overhead and that in actuality it was 7:30 in the morning.

Yesterday was a day for disappointments. Rich went in for a dentist dis-appointment and came out not too happy. I didn't get to hear from the second part of my interview, which means I didn't get into the next round and wont be making any dis-appointments in the future, and when we drove over to my bank to deposit some money we were completely shocked to find police tape all around it and my bank was closed. After driving around looking for another one I decided that I would have to just wait til today to deposit it and now face the challenge of driving in pouring rain.

Well, we can always look on the bright side.
But not today.

Me.

Lovebugs

You know it's May in Florida when the lovebugs are in the air. I literally mean love bugs, a weird looking creature that looks as if it has a second head where it's bum is supposed to be, yep, they're mating. They swarm everywhere and really you only see them when they're mating, which occurs every May and September. I opened a window this morning and there were two of them on the screen, they got a surprise when I opened the window and harmoniously flopped onto the sill outside. They're somewhat of a nuisance because they swarm everywhere, dying on car hoods, windshields, grills and headlights as you drive down the road, if you had a convertible you end up looking as if you drove around with a mud mask when you finally arrive at your destination. Other than being annoying because they are everywhere doing it, they don't do anything else like sting you and suck your blood, so I say cheers to you lovebugs, everyone could learn a lesson from you. Time's short so make love, not war.
And so my fellow humans my message to you, on this lovely May day, is to go out and just do it.

Me.

A-camping We Will Go


I blinked and it was May already. This is crazy.

We have the house for a week to ourselves and the week's flying by so quickly. In about a week and a half we're off to go camping. Woo. Not actual camping but just sitting around inside an RV and grilling on our portable charcoal grill, we just bought a few weeks ago. Sweet. I am looking forward to this.

When I was younger I used to want to go camping and sit around a bonfire with marshmallows at the end of a long stick, getting nice and dark and soft and hot. Yummy. However, my family was not the camping type and the closest I had ever gotten was putting chairs together and throwing a blanket over it and pretending it was a tent out in the middle of the woods. This isn't going to be out in a tent in the middle of the woods but I will have tall pines and birches nearby and there are areas where you could set up tents and go a-tenting. There is a bonfire area where you can make s'mores and there are hiking trails and boats, fishing and a few other wilderness type recreation. We will be biking around and around and spending the evening roasting marshmallows and falling asleep to the buzz of mosquitoes and snuggling under the warm blankets.

Will write soon.

Me.

Helle-not-so-good

About three weeks ago I fell into some sort of hellish time hole, swam around in a lake of fire, tread through a few groaning, moaning corpse-like beings, made my way through this grinder, came away with a few bones still intact, then had my tongue cut out, which caused my hands to stop typing. I kept moving on and finally found a spoon, a teaspoon to be exact, and scraped my way upward toward the surface, all that time holding in my breath and bodily fluids.

Took about three weeks, I think that might be a world record, I met a few people in there that had been there for 60+ years.

In other news, my diminutive (and by diminutive I mean in stature as well as wholesomeness) sister-in-law might just buy the house next door. I celebrated that news by dunking my cat into the retention pond outside and not letting go until she stopped clawing at me. She's sleeping right now.

Last bit of happiness, I've been suffering from nosebleeds for a few days now and I think it's caused by the tumor, just behind my nasal cavity, whose pressure increases when I tilt my head downward enough to cause my nose to bleed. I cannot wear shoes that need tying and have found that I have gone to work with mismatched socks and can only see the rest of me using my visual periphery or looking in the mirror, which I have given up for lent (looking in the mirror that is).

What was that?
Easter passed?
Oh.

Suck It Up!

I just finished watching "Made" on MTV and what really bothers me is when the madee doesn't seem to have the drive for what they're being made into. Ughh. I've seen it time and again, they're late, they have attitude, they dissolve in tears over the smallest things, like not agreeing with the outfit they have to wear. I want to be made into a surfer or some strong woman kinda thing, not the stupid scary ones where they're huge and have to lift a keg over their heads for no good reason. More like "Miss Fit Body 2006" or something like that, haha I have more of a misfit body than the other description. It's always lame high schoolers too.

I apologize to all the lame high schoolers out there. heh

Another thing I don't like about Made is that they always want to make the girls into hideous slut girly girls and throw away all of their previous identity and the girls conform to it. Gah. I want to be made into an assassin, or a member of the elite Navy Seals or the Marines or a Green Beret, or like a jiu jitsu/grappling killer, or just be bitten by some radioactive bug or cat and be a super villainess...I mean heroine. hehe. I want to kick ass and look good doing it.

Gotta go mo-foes

Me.

12 Months

A year ago we arrived at this house, in Florida, sometime in the middle of the afternoon. It was hot and we were supposed to come home to a barbecue and my specially requested fried chicken. Turns out barbecues are white people term for burgers and hot dogs, and fried chicken is a cold pack from the deli at the local Publix.

Later the brother-in-law and uncle-in-law arrived from driving the moving truck and so uncle-in-law's wife came by and being a downer her first words were "did you hear? the pope's dead." Oh, nice to see you too.

Then there was the getting used to of which house we live at, which if the white jeep isn't park in the front sometimes I still get a little confused. Then there was the exploring of the mall and surrounding areas, eating at California Pizza Kitchen and Cheesecake Factory and pretending we were on a nice little vacation.

Yeah, year went by real quick, so much stuff happened, still happening, definitely not a boring year. Only literally 3 months left til my wedding but it's really 2 because once I reach June I wont have 28 days, I'll only have panic.

Enjoy the new week!
Me.

Blend Until Smooth

I love that I went to foodnetwork.com, typed in smoothies and got 11 recipes, the 11th being mashed potatoes.

In other news, I might just go on a picnic tomorrow.

Me.

'Where the humuhumunukunukuapuaa go swimming by'

About a week ago I learned a few basic steps of the hula. I totally fell in love with it. It was graceful and difficult and lovely. Made me sweat up a storm and yet I enjoyed it very much, didn't notice that I was sweating until it dropped into my eye and stung me. Oh wait, women don't sweat, we perspire.

Being Filipino, it was easy to fit in with the real Polynesians. I was asked where I was from and was told that I should study the dance and perform for money because I looked like them, had the body for it and had a pretty face. Their quote, not mine, though I'm not too modest to post it. heehee

So I'm in the process of tracking down a few coconuts, long leaves of grass and a few orchids for my lei. Away I go to Hawaii! Oh, you poor things that aren't as brown and chubby as I.

Aloha,
Me.

File Under Q

I have so many things to do and have done in the past few days. Forgive the lack of interest in blogging, which is the truth, because most of the things I've done was write on so many different topics that when it came to blogging I just lost any interest.

I have a few stories a-brewing in my head, but there are a few things that I needed to write out that weren't exactly stories. One having to do with the wedding, one having to do something with work, and a few that were for 'marriage' sake. Gah, I'm exhausted, luckily this time of the month makes me perky and excited to do things, unlike the end where I just slump around not wanting to do anything at all.

Okay, okay, hopefully I can mail out all of y'alls invites today and get that out there. Sorry for this post, not spectacular or even very interesting, but had to let you know the stats. It is a blog after all.

"From the withered tree, a flower blooms"

Happy Spring! When I was younger, and living in the northeast, every fiber of my being would ache for spring. I love winter and fall is my favorite season, but spring goes by so quickly that when I blinked it was over and all I'd get was a passing glimpse of the tulips and crocuses.

Where we lived in Massachusetts, I'd drive around the town and there would be these beautiful glorious hills of blue crocuses and that's when I knew it was spring and immediately following would be the daffodils and jonquils.

I remember walking up from the bus stop, after a long day of school, and still wearing a light jacket, and catching a whiff of the magnolias, cherry blossoms and dogwood blooms and just feeling a lightness in my heart after the long winter.

I think I'm going through some sort of withdrawal for the seasons. Driving down the road and seeing the cows and horses at pasture, and seeing everyones' flowers popping out really makes the air shimmer and sparkle with the idea of new life.

Happy day all.

Me.

Dear Readers,

I should really just blog this at the new site because it's mostly wedding stuff but alas, I am vain and need an audience of more than just two, so...maybe I'll double post to the other one... haha.

Get ready, in the next two weeks y'all should be receiving an invitation from me. Proper etiquette dictates that the invites be mailed 1-2 months before the wedding, however, we need to meet a deadline the month before the wedding, therefore, it will be more like 2-3 months. Please, please encourage your families to enter your name and number of persons coming and then mail it out! It will come pre-stamped. Geez. I know Filipinos have the tendency to be procrastinators so please don't make me call your house, I know where you live. Also, enclosed will be some information (written by yours truly) so don't discard it, but rather, savor it like a fine wine.

Also, one last update, the wedding website should be undergoing a change sometime very soon, I hope, and will no longer be blue!!! but rather a nice pastoral green and it will not claim that Bloomingdale's is where we are registered but rather at Target. I know, it seems like a step down but really Target provided all the things I wanted and needed (mostly wanted) (note the "I wanted" because the groom wasn't really taken into consideration, except for a few items). Whoa, I better get to adding on. I just went on and realized that I looked at a whole bunch of stuff, I just didn't add them on, so I only have like 5 items there. heehee. Now if only they'd allow me to add books to my registry...

I am excited to the point of nauseousness.

Yours truly,
Me

I miss school so much.

I just received an email from my old alma mater's English dept. asking anyone interested, to submit a paper on: DECONSTRUCTING DISTINCTIONS:
EXPLORING THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION STUDIES. Yes, it was written in bold and capitals. It was for the 3rd annual English department grad. student conference.

It's strange the differences I've landed myself in. I used to be around the intellectual/collegiate types and now I'm working a blue-collar, minimum wage sort of fare.

I've also noticed that I'm attracted to things that semi-crazy people, who work for my company, are attracted to as well, but I can't seem to find the link. I was in this Christmas choir and the people who were in that were insane. I once took Rich to one of our rehearsals and he left shaken and scared. Luckily I was one of them or else he would have been torn to pieces. They laughed uproariously at things that weren't even that funny. The madness vibrating through the air was perceptible. And I'm trying out for a new role with the company and that's full of crazy, crazy people as well. Am I crazy? Am I the type of person who would try 8 times to get into something I know I failed at 7 times before? I'm not enthusiastic about the company I work for but I love the jobs that are almost outside of it. That has nothing to do with the work and more to do with fun. Maybe that's the link.

To go back to college, I have to intervene with myself, my college was a blue collar sort of fare. That was what made it good.

I think it's strange that many of the people I work with have college degrees and are on the ball but they stay in the same job, making what they make, for years (10+), never growing, never achieving more. We all get the same benefits and they aren't so grand. Is it because they've settled? Are they afraid? Will I become like that? It just seems so stagnant and a little scary.

But by missing school and wanting to go back to the life where I was stimulated and forced to write often, am I also showing signs of fear and settling? That I don't want to graduate but just keep getting degrees and writing 10 page papers...

Have a good weekend.
Me.

Summertime Blues, Heaven and Hell

On my days off and I have nothing better to do than just sit around and have a late breakfast and watch television, I end up longing for a good show to watch, like I Love Lucy, Bewitched, Gilligan's Island, The Golden Girls, Murder She Wrote, Columbo, or even Matlock. Then I get a weird sensation of deja vu. I've done this before. With this deja vu there also came the sensations of intense boredom and relaxation.

Yah, every summer of my life from the time I started going to school. It creeped me out the other day while sitting there with a bowl of food, selecting a channel, trying to find one of those shows and finally stopping on the Cosby Show, the one where Mrs. Cosby had to lose ten pounds for her upcoming reunion. I know all the shows, what happens, and even the lines. It's like some sort of Nick at Night hell where I am forced to watch shows over and over and over. I could be gluttonous and lazy and proud that that's all I had to do today, it was the summertime.

I think there's a run of the Golden Girls, followed by the Nanny. Gotta walk.

Me.

Written in textedit, apple's version of notebook

tried to blog this morning but blogger was down so i was unable to do so.

yesterday an idea hit me, for a new novel (or short story, since I seem unable to finish anything long). Well, actually it was a thought that grew into a bigger thought and bam! i had my main character. Now I also have a girl/woman in the works too (my main character being a boy/man) and I know she's to be the love interest, but what I can't figure out is, will she also be the foil, meaning not only will she be his contrast but also the one that keeps him from attaining his end, i.e. villain to my hero. But of course, not in a deliberate way, more of accidental incidents, on both parts really. Gah, it seems too complex and yet I can see it playing out in my mind.

It's a lovely, sweet story about villains and heroes. chances and outcomes.
Well there it is, it will never come into fruition.

Now if only I could get mr. glass and bruce willis out of my head.
Me.

Luncheon Meats

My favorite lunch meat would have to be roast beef. Probably because it doesn't taste as processed as every other one out there. To be specific I like Boar's Head roast beef. If they don't have it, I don't want it.

My first encounter with l-meats was somewhere in grade school when my mom thought that we should try some "White food" for lunch, because we were getting mercilessly made fun of for our chicken adobo... I really don't recall that, but all I know is mom decided we should give ham and cheese, bologna and cheese, salami and cheese and turkey sandwiches a try. My mom had never bought deli meats before and so she turned to television for inspiration. Damn you catchy Oscar Meyer jingles!

That began our descent into the underworld of "white people food". Dems must be devils, to eat dat nasty stuff. And paired with our sumptious deli selections? Of course, what other than Kraft American Singles that were individually packaged. Mmm. That's because of all those cute kid commercials, where they're talking about the cow jumping over the moon because it was made out of cheesey goodness.

I think that was why, for a very, very, long time I thought cheese was disgusting and wouldn't eat it. (I liked that weird, non-yellow cheese on pizza though.)

I think we finally broke down and asked her to just make us peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which was my lunch time staple for about 8 years.

So I never strayed too close to the deli counter until my wedding day. But you all know that story.

Happy anniversary!
Me.

"Probably Going To Be Something Lame Like 'Eternal Flame' By The Bangles"*

The other day I was surprised that it was coming to March already. The shock of it is I only have a few months left before the wedding and I think I am seriously behind on a bunch of things, it's starting to FREAK. ME. OUT. That and the fact that I can't get hold of my wedding planner. If you notice a little wetness at the back of my pants (or more likely, my housedress) it's because everytime I think of it I pee myself. But March will settle this all up. I'm gonna dive right in for this month and everything should be either right on schedule or better at the end of this month. Do you hear me??!!

The other thing that was a surprise about March, and quite a pleasant bit at that, is that in two days (March 2nd) it will be my one year "official" wedding anniversary. (I don't need the comments, you know who you are.) Rich and I will be going somewhere to celebrate. Okay, just for a celebratory lunch at one of the nicer restaurants around.

So, just to refresh myself on what happened that day I went back and read my blog on it. Thank God for those, or else I wouldn't know anything, I've forgotten it mostly. haha. But in reading it I realized we have been keeping the fourth 'suspected' cornerstone to keeping a happy, stable marriage. We have been ingesting a lot of fiber. Well half of us anyway, enough for two. Seemed longer than just a year ago. So strange.

Okee, gotta check on my laundry. See y'all soon.

*That was my response when someone asked me what we were dancing to at my wedding.
Me.

I was going to paint a picture of our summers buying KFC or spicy chicken wings and heading out to the beach and park, when we were kids, with dad. However, I wont. I was reminded of these times because today Rich and I went to the campground area of Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground (correct nomenclature is improtant) and had a tasty picnic right by the Seven Seas Lagoon. It was perfect; warm and breezy.

But what I also remembered when I stopped to think about those summers at the beach, eating mashed potatoes and gravy, and hogging the drumsticks, just dad, Mike and me, was how, even though this was almost a thrice weekly event, it still felt strange just having the three of us together. We were never that close with dad because he was not affectionate nor did he share his past experiences, meaning, after 25 years of having a dad I barely know two stories about his childhood or even young adulthood. In looking back it's sad but really that's what I know and to see anything different would be stranger.

My days of picnics, swinging on swings, walking the beach and running under the summer sun still influences me today. When it gets hot and I feel cooped up I yearn to go out, walk under the sun, (preferably by the water) and bring some kind of fattening lunch and when I do I feel carefree and young. I don't know about dad's memories from childhood but he's made many happy memories for us.


It's Friday tomorrow!! Have a good weekend.
Me.

p.s. was that a lame ending?

From The Heavens

A few days ago I told God that I was no longer going to pray to him and that he wasn't helping me through anything and that I didn't need him.

Yesterday, while driving to work, amidst my thoughts of depression and semi-sadness, right down the road where I make a left unto the highway, singing along to Michael Buble's song "Home", I realized that the corner of my eye was trying to relate to me that a certain cloud looked exactly like an "O". So I tore my eyes away from the road and looked up to the northeast side of my windshield. And there it was, a sign from the heavens.

"JESUS LOVES YOU"

I know, I can be spiteful and say something sarcastic about skywriters and uber-religion. But I took it for it's message and won't shoot the messenger. And patched things up with Him. Said a little prayer and drove, with my eyes safely on the road once more. When I arrived at work and walked our little walkway with a nice warm breeze blowing at me I felt a wholeness once more. It was a good day.

Me.

Turdle Breath

I find this absolutely fascinating and is the reason why this will be my only post for today:
Turtles can breathe oxygen through their bums!! Look it up, you'll see.

It reminds me of the episode of South Park where Cartman teaches everyone that they too can poo through their mouths. Yeah, that's just how my mind works. Jealous?

Have a good weekend.
Me.

Back To School

When I was in seventh grade I moved to a new school. It was a little parochial school tucked in a tiny shady corner of the Bronx, called St. Mary's. I had just spent a year in a public school where a girl had gotten raped, a classmate had died of a mysterious asthma attack, and a girl in my grade, had run into the school, hysterical and half-naked because a few boys had attacked her in the park. I loved that school but we'll get into that at another juncture.

I had spent four years in two different public schools and in those years are contained my fondest memories of school life. So, I was uneasy when I was told I would be transferring to this Catholic school. Although, not too much because I had already been there for Pre-K and first and second grade.

First day of school and I was glad to see many people from my first and second grades and there were a few people I knew in my years in public school. That year I became best friends with Samantha, a quiet, often the domineered sheep of our flock; Susan, who I knew and was best friends with in 5th grade; Roseanne or Rosie, who I had met and slightly knew in second grade, she was the tomboy/sassy Puerto Rican who all the boys inevitably fell hard for; and Marisol, who I knew since kindergarten. She and I were in the same classes and schools all the way until 8th grade. She was the leader who was smart and could cut you to the quick with vicious verbiage, but she was funny and charming in her own way.

We were the fivesome who often sat at a different table from the other girls and while they played double dutch at recess, we played tag with the boys, or sporks (which was a fun game that requires those sporks they give you at lunch, there was something evil about them that I loved).

Our cafeteria table also housed the unwanted boys, the geek boys, who were not athletic, who wore glasses, who liked to play the various card games that were in vogue, or just not up to par with the other boys, meaning we sat with the Jew, the flaming queen, the Greek boy with the weird accent, the idiot savant, who would sit at the back of the class humming tunes, leaving jerry curl stains on his chair, and playing with paper. (Once asked by the teacher if he was listening he answered in the affirmative and the teacher ask him to repeat what she had said and repeated everything she said, word for word from the last ten minutes.)(I should know, I was at that time, taking copious notes.) It was eerie. Our lunch table was the only one in the whole school that was a mix of the sexes and the races. That school being predominantly Black, our table stood out.

Oh, it's nice to reminisce but I must bid you adieu for today and tune in next week for more of Michelle Brown's school days.

Me.

p.s. Happy Valentine's Day all.

Denial Of The Obvious

I hate anyone at work I don't work with.

That of course means our beloved customers.

That means you.

You fiend, who comes to the place where I work ready for an argument, ready for dissatisfaction, you who comes with an ugly mug on your face and attitude and sarcasm in your voice. Gah, I hate you. How I loathe you. How I wish nothing but the same in your life, nothing but attitude, sarcasm, dissatisfaction from your family and anyone you come in contact with so that it is a vicious cycle, because I do not have enough mercy and gentleness and generosity in my bones to wish you anything better, because I despise you.

That's what I said to someone who came up to me yesterday. Then I flashed him my combined wedding and engagement rings which shot out a beam that immediately blew him up to a million sparkling pieces of brilliant crystal.

I forget sometimes that I can shoot out those rays from my rings, or there would be more sparkling pieces of brilliant crystal on the floor.

Oh sometimes I wish I had a more challenging role, like a brain in a vat.

Me.
P.S. What's up with blogger and having you type in a word verification?

Hey big Happy Birthday to Julienne today! Yay!

Been busy with work and illness for the past week or so. Not my illness but someone else's.

Nothing too new and crazy to add to my life at the moment. I've had to endure a few early morning wake ups and now my body is used to it that I got up early again this morning even though I have no form of work or excursions planned for today.

I've got a few errands to run now that I'm up and have thought about it though.

Also been reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and it seems very hopeful and interesting. I'm looking forward to continuing it.

Ho-hum, sorry for the dull post. I'll come up with something spectacular and mind-blowing later on today, if not, maybe something worth reading anyway.

Me.

Except February, That's The Weird One

In our little neighborhood there's a prize you win for having a nice looking yard. It's called the "Yard of the Month" and you get to place this green plaque on your yard. As we drove past the houses I caught sight of the house with the plaque on its lawn and thought "that's sad that they only get to have it for 28 days unlike the rest of us who get it for two or three days more." But then the half full side of me thought, "well maybe they'll cherish it more because they only have it for less time."

Then we crashed into Yard of the Month's neighbor's tree because I wasn't keeping my eyes on the road.

Me.
P.S. We really didn't crash into a tree, it's just to keep it all exciting and interesting.

Life's A Bitch

So I forgot to wish you all a happy chinese new year yesterday. It happens to be the year of the dog! yay. It looks very favorable and peaceful from all the sites I've read on the internet. My favorite Aunt was born in the year for the Dog, if that means anything to you. So Happy New Year once again.

Me.

The Sweet Life

Finally saw Tim Burton's version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was actually very good. Different from the original and I really didn't even compare it to the original while watching it except for the beginning while they're on the boat and there wasn't the scary/neat rhyme. There were some funny bits too.

I would love to have a chocolate river and waterfall to look at and smell while sitting on my sugary grass under the caramel apple tree. No Oompah loompahs though. And no creepy dude with weird hair and funny talk and daddy issues.

Have a good night and rest of the weekend.

Me.

Formerly Upper Volta*

There was a point in my relationship, with the person I would eventually marry, that we pretended to be homeless and lived in a car for two nights.
It was actually very sweet because in the mornings we'd drive to the beach, watch the sunrise and eat bagels.

I contemplated whether I should collect soda cans and bottles and redeem them for a handful of nickels and perhaps borrow someone's metal detector and scour the beach early in the morning.

But then his vacation from work ended and I had to start school once more, so he suggested that I move in with him.

My conservative, Victorian virtues trembled and nearly fainted. That would mean living with a man in sin. Secretly the Filipino side of me cheered. Now was my chance to see how white people acted in the shelter of their own homes, what they ate, and if their poo really smelled. (More or less the same/not ham sandwiches like mom said/yes.)

I rallied my girls and had a long discussion with them. We finally narrowed it down to two choices:

I could just move in with him.

Or move to Burkina Faso.*

Ciao,

Me.

The Reverse Side Also Has A Reverse Side
Japanese Proverb

We go back and forth about whether I want to be enlightened. I say it's too much fun living in worldly pleasures and he tells me that it's much better when I am enlightened. He thinks he was brought here to help me out and to finally achieve it, I think I was brought here to test him and make him resist, wallow with me and the other swine, drinking others' urine but claiming it delicious! He tries so hard to not think, to silence his mind and I'm busy scheming and wondering and hoping.

All this goes on while our cat raises her sleepy head (efficient killer that she is), licks her paw and goes back to sleep, more zen than either of us.

Me.

Invite The Chronic

Finally saw the Chroni-what!-cles of Narnia sometime last week and I will admit that it was pretty good. Way better than the latest Potter movie and actually stuck to the book very closely. That was officially the first movie we saw in a theater this year! Yay. I really doubt we'll see many movies this year unless they come up with something similar to Lord of the Rings or Star Wars.

In other news, we've settled on which invitations we'll be sending but I've sat back and let it sit in for a while before any ordering. Gotta let this sink in before making such a big decision. I wished it was something like my wedding dress where I saw it and said "this is it!" but we mulled over the ones we liked and pro'd and con'd them and finally decided on a certain set. Luckily I don't feel too bad because I'm buying it through the company I work for and am getting a 40% deduction off of them. Nonetheless they're still pretty pricey. If they were only less than $200 I'd be okay with it but over $200 and I'm a little perturbed.

Sigh.

Have a good weekend folks.

Me.

One Haiku For The Road



Eleven o'clock
Snuggled under the covers
Sleep comes at midnight

Get In My Belly!

Yesterday, at one of the classes I'm taking to add a few cents to my paycheck, we were asked what our favorite food or cuisine was. I sat there in agony trying to come up with some kind of answer that was funny, smart and truthful. I came up with pork fried rice. I lamely explained that I could eat it 24 hours a day and that it had everything I needed, like carbs, meat, vegetables, fat and I'm sure it's got some dairy-like substance in it.

Someone's lame answer was "anything I make". LAME. I know your food sucks. If you liked your food so much you'd be a fat pig instead of some fake red-headed dyed, anorexic witch! Okay, I really don't hate her. It was just a lame answer. Dude! Just one will do, ah come on.

Ugh, I am not in the mood to blog about anything and I'm raging against everything and everyone. I hate you all. You're all very lame and you all suck. Except you.

Okay, maybe you.

Lame ass.

Suck it!

Hormones.

How do you make a hormone?
Don't pay her.

Me.

Your Ad Could Be Here!

Hello reticent audience.

Today the topic of silent discussion is: co-workers.

First: I guess one should never threaten to eat co-workers, such as "You! I will have you for dinner!" or "I'll make mincemeat of you!"

Second: when you don't want co-workers snooping through your station kindly ask them to "Please stop looking in my drawers."

Third: when one co-worker is being made fun of behind his/her back, feel free to join in with your own witty, sarcastic, comments. "Oh, I know! Her feet smell too!"

Fourth: Be the most kindest and sweetest to the ones you hate the most: "Oh Carol, that spotted bow in your hair looks so well with our striped outfits! You are such a fashionista!"

Fifth: whenever possibe, always start a rumor about someone that can't be traced back to you but will be the blight of your intended target. "She told me that her husband works in a pornography store and has to handle the merchandise that are returned."

Sixth: Always remind yourself that this is not your ultimate career, this is just a job and soon you wont be dealing with the likes of them.

I'm so happy this is just for part-time and that I'll soon be moving on.

Me.

"I Think I Have Big Arm Disease"

I've always thought of myself more as a geek than a beauty and when posed with the question of which I'd rather be: beautiful and stupid or smart and ugly; as with a lot of questions it depends on the day, but I think 6 out of 10 times I'd rather be beautiful and stupid.

My "geekiness" fluxuates. I've been so awesome in my smartness that I've amazed myself at how much common sense/facts stored up/overall ability to put things together I've amassed throughout the years, I've actually snorted when I laughed and pushed my glasses up at the same time. Then there are days when John Kerry's name evades me. I know him but I foget his name. Duh.

My "beauty" fluxuates as well. I've been told by complete strangers that I'm actually beautiful and I've been told that I was not so by Leeny's ex's sister (whose name is my name too). This is how she put is, "Ate, you're not so beautiful, you've got more like 'the girl next door' look." Wha?? I know she didn't mean it as a compliment.

I've met beautiful/gorgeous women who are so damned smart I didn't understand half the stuff they're saying, and some of them are in my family, so compared to my family I'm neither smart nor beautiful.

Don't you ever feel like killing them?

Have a good weekend.

Me.

The Time Has Come

for a revolution. I call forth my sisters: To arms! To arms!

Yesterday Rich and I had the following conversation: *

HG(hellegood): Man, why do I have to come home and be expected to make supper.

R: 'Cause you're a woman and the day you become a more powerful army than men will be the day you don't have to come home from a long day's work and make me something good. And God help you if it's not good!!

So I stood there cowering while he stood over me watching as I cooked dinner.

And that's why today, as he sleeps, I write this. Rise Rise RISE!! Destroy all men! Leave the good looking ones as sex slaves and dinner-makers.

* That conversation never occurred. I just wanted to get either a rise out of you or a smile. Silly women...

Me.

My Two Cents

Beware, stamp prices will rise as of Sunday the 8th, from 37 cents to 39 cents. What's up with that? I'm trying to write any letters that need to be written now so that I don't have to waste my time going to the p.o. just to get correction stamps or whatnot.


I remember living in the Bronx and walking up 233rd street, making a left on White Plains Road, crossing over 232nd and going into the post office. The only time I've ever seen one comparable to what I considered eerie, majestic, cold, and impersonal was when I lived in Quincy, Ma. and had to run to that post office (but that was only a two time thing). There was something of a bygone era about it and always made me feel as if we were in a time warp, during the time we were in there.

The ceiling soared and everything was made out of marble and brass ornamentation. Every sound was a hushed echo and it was always dark and cool. Its sister must have been the library, both brought up by a sound forbidding mother. While mom bought stamps, paid for some delivery to somewhere, and stood in line, I would wander the cubes of p.o. boxes, twisting knobs and looking through little windows.

The most thrilling part of that post office was the two little hinged slots, parallel to one another and opening like two doors on their sides. That was where you slipped your mail into; outbound or local. I would grab mom's prestamped mail ($.22 at the time) and study them carefully, anything with "Bronx" on it would go in the lower slot and everything else was shot down the top slot. I'd keep the slot open and peer through it to see that they went down a slide and onto a big canvas bin.

Once out of the chill of the post office we would step into bright sun and I'd always be surprised that in front of me were busy cars, dirty streets and the elevated traintracks above me, spilling dirty liquids onto the ground below. Where were the buggies and men tipping their derby hats, and women in riding shirts and skirts with their hand clasped onto some gentleman's arm?

Well it's time to write all the letters that need to be written so as not to have to pay the extra two cents.

Have a great weekend y'all.

Me.

All Play And No Work...

Might make me a less stressed person. The past few days spent with the brother and friend were actually like a vacation. The weather was unbelievable and we had good food and fun times. But I must "to work" today.

Rich was crunching numbers to see how little work we could do to get by on our own. It's still a bit of work, on both our ends. haha. Quite literally, we'll have to work our bums off.

It's a bit strained in the house due to noise and sleeping patterns. I'm looking forward to having an apartment and no one waking us up at 6 in the morning with coffee makers, vacuums, barking dogs and telephones ringing. Although, perhaps in an apartment we'll get the same thing. haha. Oh god forbid.

Okay, gotta go off to someplace. I'll write something more palatable sometime soon.

Me.

Catcalls

If I don't blog for several days it's because my brother's in town and I will be the slave once more and do all I can to entertain him. haha. Then off to work after that.

Our cat woke us up last night crying and crying and I still can't figure out what was the matter. She had plenty of food in her dry food bowl this morning and I'm pretty sure she didn't have a nightmare because I think she was up and about and not on her sleeping perch and I had just changed her litterbox, so I don't think she had an issue with that. She hardly makes a sound let alone a cry and it went on for a while. We tried calling her over to jump on the bed but she went on making a high-pitched, desperate sounding howl.

She seemed fine this morning, except of course the exterminator's doorbell ring was an unforeseen challenge.

I worry about her and I wonder what I can do to make her later adult years not so stressful. I know it'll be harder for her to accept change, just like any senior, and I know movement will become harder on her. We try to keep her weight at a healthy place and she's still active (on the cold days).

I don't know if she gets enough attention, because some days when I come home from work she's at the door ready to see me and I feel guilty for not having enough time with her. She and I have a special bond. I love her to pieces and she is my dark grey familiar (cat familiars are said to be black), her role is to be my healer and guardian.

We have several years left with her and hopefully we'll treat her well and she'll grow old gracefully.

Me.

"I do not know what still awaits,
Or what the morrow brings;
But with the glad salute of faith,
I hail its open wings!..."

Happy new year everyone!

I spent mine at work, for alas, I worked until midnight. However, at five minutes to midnight we all gathered ourselves with cups of sparkling cider and stepped out onto our balcony area and watched the fireworks, counted down to the new year and watched and heard even more fireworks. It was wonderful and the first time I had ever had to work for new year's eve.

I know I'm an optimist but it looks like this year will be so much better than the last. I'm glad last year was over, it was too much for me. Last year brought drama, confusion, busyness without organization. Stirred it too much. It looks as if this year will be quieter and more prosperous, and more stable. My old bones can't handle it. haha.

Welcome 2006!

Me.