here she is, here name is kat von d:
isn't she so pretty
and she can tattoo for reals yall
Thursday, March 29, 2007
my new girlfriend
remember how i said i have a crush on the lady on miami ink?
here she is, here name is kat von d:
isn't she so pretty
and she can tattoo for reals yall
here she is, here name is kat von d:
isn't she so pretty
and she can tattoo for reals yall
does it get cuter than this?
i think not:
thats daryl mcdaniels of run dmc kickin it live one time with some teletubbies.
loves it.
thats daryl mcdaniels of run dmc kickin it live one time with some teletubbies.
loves it.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
my newest obsession...
miami ink
on TLC
i can not get enough of it
i just spent HOURS watching it
and now it is after 1am and i am tired
i have a wee bit of a crush on kat von d
and would love to get a tattoo from her or chris carver
ok must sleep now
on TLC
i can not get enough of it
i just spent HOURS watching it
and now it is after 1am and i am tired
i have a wee bit of a crush on kat von d
and would love to get a tattoo from her or chris carver
ok must sleep now
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
dear diary
i have had a busy past few days, so lets get to it.
last saturday, higgs and her sweetie bobby came over to love on the kitties before we proceeded to Rice to get a delicious and nutritious dinner. they went for the special where you pay like $25 and then eat all these different things. jes and i went for the mexican chicken soup (good but i could have done without the corn), arepas- divine as always, and the vegetable dumpling things (i really only like the sauce you dip them in). we all shared some not so salty edamame up front and i partook in a divine cup of hot spicy ginger tea. it burns going down and i love it.
after dinner we headed over to this great bar in fort green called moe's. jes and i had said we wanted to go and figured higgs and bobby would like to hang for a little bit longer, but not too long b/c higgs had a marathon on sunday morning. so we walked on over and when we walked in i saw ali and i thought "oh that is so weird b/c we were maybe going to try and get a drink with ali after this, but look she is here now." then i looked across from ali and saw beth, one of jes's school mates and i thought "oh how curious they are both coincidentally here, i guess they saw each other and decided to sit near each other." then i looked to my left and saw botacelli and her boyfriend steve and i was like "wait a minute, there is something going on here." that is when higgs was like "surprise dr. donna, congrats on finishing your disseration" and then i looked around and in fact i knew everyone in the front of the bar, b/c they were there for a surprise gathering for me. isn't that silly? i felt very stupid at first and then i was like "how did you keep this from me" and jes was like "it was not easy, i almost told you a million times" i guess she, higgs and ali put their big brains together and made it work. stinkers.
so it was this amazing time. i got to see so many folks i hadn't seen and some i do see but i got to see them MORE. first i chatted with botacelli and steve about their lives and work and such. then i talked to the bls crew: erica and her sweetie, beth and linda. then i chatted with my suppa club ladies: ali, glennda and kim, then i busted chats with the folks by the jukebox: pony, thibot, darelle, tara, christian and charlie. then in came max (wolverine, not max bike- he was sick, so was liz) and niki and julie and their straight roommate who apparently had the hots for jes. i felt so loved and i got all these great presents and people kept buying me drinks. needless to say i was hungover the next morning from three vodka tonics with lime. nothing a lot of water and a little tylenol couldn't fix.
jes had to work all day on sunday so i did some work here in the morning and then ali came over so we could walk down to key food to buy an ice cream cake for the l word finale get together at kim and glennda's. we went for a bunny cake. i said it was a passover bunny so people who don't celebrate easter didn't feel left out. on the way home, ali and i picked up a slice at joe's then ate it when we got home. she helped me pack up a few more boxes too, which was great. the last few days ali has had this really bad heart burn, so while we were eating, i got out my digestive wellness book and we read up on how to deal with it. she found that they suggested this "test" with apple cider vinegar. basically you do a shot of apple cider vinegar and if it burns you have enough or too much acid in your stomach, if it doesn't you may have too little acid. neither of us felt a burn so we think we may have low acid bellies. it tasted pretty gross and i think ali will never do it again. i laughed at her grimace.
the lword party was divine. lovely ladies, great food and horrible lesbian drama (on the tv). i was really hoping they would kill off jenny and tina in a car wreck or something but they didn't. though i did appreciate how things ended with jenny at least. yesterday i traveled into the city to look at some books in the nyu library. i can't check books out so i have to just look at them and then xerox what i need. the staff was really less than helpful, but at least i got a start on identifying good readings for this queer theory course i might be teaching. after that i went to a coffee shop (SNice- i love it) and read what i had xeroxed, then i met jes at curly's for a delish avocado melt and some curly fries. we met christian at nowhere (the gay bar) next door and at first he seemed a bit tired or down in the dumps. even a few games of erotic photo hunt didn't bring him up. then we saw some bar patrons playing the new playstation or nintendo Wii, the video game with the wands. we asked if we could play and they said yes. for the next few hours we played baseball, golf, bowling and tennis. we tried to do boxing but you needed some other attachment. it was so much fucking fun. what was totally hilarious was watching jes and christian play with the wand in one hand and a beer in the other. my favorite (i think) was tennis or maybe baseball b/c those were the ones i was best at. seriously the shit is addictive and i even *for one moment* considered getting one. then i reminded myself that paying off student loans is a smarter way to use my money.
so its a gorgeous warm and sunny day today. i have some work here to do and then i am heading out into the neighborhood to run errands: mail stuff, grocery shop, pick up a few other things and then tonight i think we are going to pack some more and watch babel. jes finished watching fast food nation last night. that is a seriously intense movie. i really liked it.
ok happy tuesday.
last saturday, higgs and her sweetie bobby came over to love on the kitties before we proceeded to Rice to get a delicious and nutritious dinner. they went for the special where you pay like $25 and then eat all these different things. jes and i went for the mexican chicken soup (good but i could have done without the corn), arepas- divine as always, and the vegetable dumpling things (i really only like the sauce you dip them in). we all shared some not so salty edamame up front and i partook in a divine cup of hot spicy ginger tea. it burns going down and i love it.
after dinner we headed over to this great bar in fort green called moe's. jes and i had said we wanted to go and figured higgs and bobby would like to hang for a little bit longer, but not too long b/c higgs had a marathon on sunday morning. so we walked on over and when we walked in i saw ali and i thought "oh that is so weird b/c we were maybe going to try and get a drink with ali after this, but look she is here now." then i looked across from ali and saw beth, one of jes's school mates and i thought "oh how curious they are both coincidentally here, i guess they saw each other and decided to sit near each other." then i looked to my left and saw botacelli and her boyfriend steve and i was like "wait a minute, there is something going on here." that is when higgs was like "surprise dr. donna, congrats on finishing your disseration" and then i looked around and in fact i knew everyone in the front of the bar, b/c they were there for a surprise gathering for me. isn't that silly? i felt very stupid at first and then i was like "how did you keep this from me" and jes was like "it was not easy, i almost told you a million times" i guess she, higgs and ali put their big brains together and made it work. stinkers.
so it was this amazing time. i got to see so many folks i hadn't seen and some i do see but i got to see them MORE. first i chatted with botacelli and steve about their lives and work and such. then i talked to the bls crew: erica and her sweetie, beth and linda. then i chatted with my suppa club ladies: ali, glennda and kim, then i busted chats with the folks by the jukebox: pony, thibot, darelle, tara, christian and charlie. then in came max (wolverine, not max bike- he was sick, so was liz) and niki and julie and their straight roommate who apparently had the hots for jes. i felt so loved and i got all these great presents and people kept buying me drinks. needless to say i was hungover the next morning from three vodka tonics with lime. nothing a lot of water and a little tylenol couldn't fix.
jes had to work all day on sunday so i did some work here in the morning and then ali came over so we could walk down to key food to buy an ice cream cake for the l word finale get together at kim and glennda's. we went for a bunny cake. i said it was a passover bunny so people who don't celebrate easter didn't feel left out. on the way home, ali and i picked up a slice at joe's then ate it when we got home. she helped me pack up a few more boxes too, which was great. the last few days ali has had this really bad heart burn, so while we were eating, i got out my digestive wellness book and we read up on how to deal with it. she found that they suggested this "test" with apple cider vinegar. basically you do a shot of apple cider vinegar and if it burns you have enough or too much acid in your stomach, if it doesn't you may have too little acid. neither of us felt a burn so we think we may have low acid bellies. it tasted pretty gross and i think ali will never do it again. i laughed at her grimace.
the lword party was divine. lovely ladies, great food and horrible lesbian drama (on the tv). i was really hoping they would kill off jenny and tina in a car wreck or something but they didn't. though i did appreciate how things ended with jenny at least. yesterday i traveled into the city to look at some books in the nyu library. i can't check books out so i have to just look at them and then xerox what i need. the staff was really less than helpful, but at least i got a start on identifying good readings for this queer theory course i might be teaching. after that i went to a coffee shop (SNice- i love it) and read what i had xeroxed, then i met jes at curly's for a delish avocado melt and some curly fries. we met christian at nowhere (the gay bar) next door and at first he seemed a bit tired or down in the dumps. even a few games of erotic photo hunt didn't bring him up. then we saw some bar patrons playing the new playstation or nintendo Wii, the video game with the wands. we asked if we could play and they said yes. for the next few hours we played baseball, golf, bowling and tennis. we tried to do boxing but you needed some other attachment. it was so much fucking fun. what was totally hilarious was watching jes and christian play with the wand in one hand and a beer in the other. my favorite (i think) was tennis or maybe baseball b/c those were the ones i was best at. seriously the shit is addictive and i even *for one moment* considered getting one. then i reminded myself that paying off student loans is a smarter way to use my money.
so its a gorgeous warm and sunny day today. i have some work here to do and then i am heading out into the neighborhood to run errands: mail stuff, grocery shop, pick up a few other things and then tonight i think we are going to pack some more and watch babel. jes finished watching fast food nation last night. that is a seriously intense movie. i really liked it.
ok happy tuesday.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
where you been?
just kidding, as per usual, its me that has been remiss. i have to say though, i have a pretty good reason. see what i didn't tell you, dear reader, in my last post and the post before that is that i was gearing up to get surgery. nothing major yall, don't worry.
so when i went to turn in my dissertation last month, i also made a visit to the girl doctor. i have been having some spotting during ovulation (for like a year) and after SEVERAL of my friends said "you should get that checked out" i did. so long story short, mr. doctor found what he thought was an ovarian cyst during a routine ultrasound. i was a little "wha???" but tried to keep it in check. from there he sent me to get a mac daddy ultrasound and from that he found that i not only had a cyst i ALSO had two polyps on my uterus (i mean b/c really one thing isn't enough). to take care of it all at once, he suggested i come in for some outpatient surgery.
after much planning, we worked it out so that i could to atlanta to get the surgery during the same time jes was going for spring break and for summer internship interviews. my sister also agreed to come for a few days before jes could get there and so that they could kind of tag team during my recovery. i have never had surgery really (i did have tubes put in my ears when i was four but i don't think that counts...) so i have to say i was pretty apprehensive about it. what i was most worried about was going under. i do not like the idea of not knowing what is going on when i am very vulnerable (naked, someone up in my parts, etc). luckily my doctor told me i could take a happy pill the morning of surgery so once i took that, i really relaxed and just let them do their thing.
about twelve seconds after the anesthesiologist gave me the "happy drugs" (her term not mine) i was OUT. i think i may have woke up for one second when we got to the operating room b/c i remember seeing the big lights. after the surgery this resident came and talked to me, the nurses took great care of me, and thirty minutes later, i was out the door. and by out the door, i mean wheeled out in a wheelchair after chatting with another patient about the color purple on broadway-random. i got a little queasy from the drive home but was able to hold it together enough to pass the fuck out for several hours in the bed. for the next day or two, kath and jes took good care of me and i pretty much just laid in the bed with breaks for the bathroom. because my belly hurt from the laproscopic surgery i kind of wobbled to the bathroom which jes thought was HILARIOUS. while i felt like someone had punched me right in the bellybutton (and i have bruises to further support this theory), the hardest part for me was the gas that they fill your belly with during the hysteroscopy (what they did to remove the polyps). they basically blow your belly up so its easier to see (i think that is why they do it). either way i felt like i was ABOUT six months pregnant and my belly hurt. the worst was saturday night. there i was, watching "stranger than fiction" (a really good movie by the way) trying not to laugh b/c it hurt (did i mention will ferrell is in the movie- so that was hard to do). i was standing up holding on to the back of chair rocking back and forth. again, jes found this HILARIOUS.
so it has been a little over a week since i got the surgery and i am feeling pretty much back to normal. i am still a little bit achy and not too keen on heavy lifting just yet, but other than that, i am golden. what the surgery taught us is this:
1. the cyst WAS NOT an ovarian cyst, that is, it was not attached to the ovary (which is good). it was a paratubal cyst just hanging out NEAR my right ovary. that also means that i have probably had this cyst for my whole life. how crazy is that? what is also crazy is that the cyst was bigger than they thought (originally it was measured at 7cm) and it was TOTALLY pushing my uterus out of the way. like the cyst was way bigger than my uterus. you would think i would have felt this. not so much.
2. after doing the polyp removal it also became clear that i have a mild case of endometriosis. you'd a thought that in twenty years of menstruating i would have known that too. again, not so much.
if these in depth details about my reproductive organs are not enough for you and you want to see pictures, send me an email and i will send them to you. yeah, that's right, i asked him to make a copy of the pictures for me. i mean how often do you get to see pictures of the inside of your body? not often. originally i was going to post them here, but then i thought maybe they are too gory and i don't want folks to get sick reading my blog.
on a happier note: while in atlanta jes and i got to see our friend dawn for coffee one afternoon AND we got to eat at el myr with kim and sarah one evening in celebration of sarah's birthday. her actual birthday was on friday. Happy Birthday Sarah!
ok enough from me. happy sunday yall.
so when i went to turn in my dissertation last month, i also made a visit to the girl doctor. i have been having some spotting during ovulation (for like a year) and after SEVERAL of my friends said "you should get that checked out" i did. so long story short, mr. doctor found what he thought was an ovarian cyst during a routine ultrasound. i was a little "wha???" but tried to keep it in check. from there he sent me to get a mac daddy ultrasound and from that he found that i not only had a cyst i ALSO had two polyps on my uterus (i mean b/c really one thing isn't enough). to take care of it all at once, he suggested i come in for some outpatient surgery.
after much planning, we worked it out so that i could to atlanta to get the surgery during the same time jes was going for spring break and for summer internship interviews. my sister also agreed to come for a few days before jes could get there and so that they could kind of tag team during my recovery. i have never had surgery really (i did have tubes put in my ears when i was four but i don't think that counts...) so i have to say i was pretty apprehensive about it. what i was most worried about was going under. i do not like the idea of not knowing what is going on when i am very vulnerable (naked, someone up in my parts, etc). luckily my doctor told me i could take a happy pill the morning of surgery so once i took that, i really relaxed and just let them do their thing.
about twelve seconds after the anesthesiologist gave me the "happy drugs" (her term not mine) i was OUT. i think i may have woke up for one second when we got to the operating room b/c i remember seeing the big lights. after the surgery this resident came and talked to me, the nurses took great care of me, and thirty minutes later, i was out the door. and by out the door, i mean wheeled out in a wheelchair after chatting with another patient about the color purple on broadway-random. i got a little queasy from the drive home but was able to hold it together enough to pass the fuck out for several hours in the bed. for the next day or two, kath and jes took good care of me and i pretty much just laid in the bed with breaks for the bathroom. because my belly hurt from the laproscopic surgery i kind of wobbled to the bathroom which jes thought was HILARIOUS. while i felt like someone had punched me right in the bellybutton (and i have bruises to further support this theory), the hardest part for me was the gas that they fill your belly with during the hysteroscopy (what they did to remove the polyps). they basically blow your belly up so its easier to see (i think that is why they do it). either way i felt like i was ABOUT six months pregnant and my belly hurt. the worst was saturday night. there i was, watching "stranger than fiction" (a really good movie by the way) trying not to laugh b/c it hurt (did i mention will ferrell is in the movie- so that was hard to do). i was standing up holding on to the back of chair rocking back and forth. again, jes found this HILARIOUS.
so it has been a little over a week since i got the surgery and i am feeling pretty much back to normal. i am still a little bit achy and not too keen on heavy lifting just yet, but other than that, i am golden. what the surgery taught us is this:
1. the cyst WAS NOT an ovarian cyst, that is, it was not attached to the ovary (which is good). it was a paratubal cyst just hanging out NEAR my right ovary. that also means that i have probably had this cyst for my whole life. how crazy is that? what is also crazy is that the cyst was bigger than they thought (originally it was measured at 7cm) and it was TOTALLY pushing my uterus out of the way. like the cyst was way bigger than my uterus. you would think i would have felt this. not so much.
2. after doing the polyp removal it also became clear that i have a mild case of endometriosis. you'd a thought that in twenty years of menstruating i would have known that too. again, not so much.
if these in depth details about my reproductive organs are not enough for you and you want to see pictures, send me an email and i will send them to you. yeah, that's right, i asked him to make a copy of the pictures for me. i mean how often do you get to see pictures of the inside of your body? not often. originally i was going to post them here, but then i thought maybe they are too gory and i don't want folks to get sick reading my blog.
on a happier note: while in atlanta jes and i got to see our friend dawn for coffee one afternoon AND we got to eat at el myr with kim and sarah one evening in celebration of sarah's birthday. her actual birthday was on friday. Happy Birthday Sarah!
ok enough from me. happy sunday yall.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
not much going on here
i feel bad because i haven't posted in a while, but frankly, i don't have much to report. surely something has been going on in my life, let me think....
well, the other day jes and i went into the city to register for a bone marrow drive. all they did was have us swab the insides of our cheeks. not too exciting. on the way there, jes saw molly shannon jogging. i missed her. and earlier in the week, i saw john cameron mitchell get off the f train right near the movie theater. i thought he was a cute short haired lesbian with high heeled blue boots. instead he was a cute short haired gay man with high heeled boots.
this past weekend we went to a birthday party for glennda. it was fun. she had this real fancy spread with lots of cheese and OLIVES! we brought the fixins for these champagne drinks, they weren't so good, but we also made pears with honey and walnuts and those were delish, so we redeemed ourselves. we made a few new friends at the party: ruben, joaquin (not sure on the spelling there) and c.j. so not only did i make THREE new friends, they were all MEN. go figure. we talked about madonna and justin timberlake and perezhilton.com. why yes, they were gay men, how'd you guess?
jes started working at the circulation desk at her school library. that is kind of hot. she and i have been diligently working on applications: job apps for me and internship apps for her. we are both kind of tired of the process already. too bad. i am officially unemployed. my job ended the last day of february. still not entirely sure what i am going to do with my life. trying to not let it freak me out too much.
my friend higgins came over on sunday and i made a version of chicken picatta that we paired with a nice spinach salad. for dessert we had some dark chocolate with raspberry pieces in it and higgs and jes also had some gross milk chocolate i don't care for.
it was freezing cold today in brooklyn even though it looked like it was a sunny warm day, it wasn't. i left the house ONCE to get some juice and a lottery ticket for tonight's drawing. oh how i hope we win the $370 million. that would be so nice.
ok yall. that is all i gots to say for now. i hope your week is going well.
take care.
well, the other day jes and i went into the city to register for a bone marrow drive. all they did was have us swab the insides of our cheeks. not too exciting. on the way there, jes saw molly shannon jogging. i missed her. and earlier in the week, i saw john cameron mitchell get off the f train right near the movie theater. i thought he was a cute short haired lesbian with high heeled blue boots. instead he was a cute short haired gay man with high heeled boots.
this past weekend we went to a birthday party for glennda. it was fun. she had this real fancy spread with lots of cheese and OLIVES! we brought the fixins for these champagne drinks, they weren't so good, but we also made pears with honey and walnuts and those were delish, so we redeemed ourselves. we made a few new friends at the party: ruben, joaquin (not sure on the spelling there) and c.j. so not only did i make THREE new friends, they were all MEN. go figure. we talked about madonna and justin timberlake and perezhilton.com. why yes, they were gay men, how'd you guess?
jes started working at the circulation desk at her school library. that is kind of hot. she and i have been diligently working on applications: job apps for me and internship apps for her. we are both kind of tired of the process already. too bad. i am officially unemployed. my job ended the last day of february. still not entirely sure what i am going to do with my life. trying to not let it freak me out too much.
my friend higgins came over on sunday and i made a version of chicken picatta that we paired with a nice spinach salad. for dessert we had some dark chocolate with raspberry pieces in it and higgs and jes also had some gross milk chocolate i don't care for.
it was freezing cold today in brooklyn even though it looked like it was a sunny warm day, it wasn't. i left the house ONCE to get some juice and a lottery ticket for tonight's drawing. oh how i hope we win the $370 million. that would be so nice.
ok yall. that is all i gots to say for now. i hope your week is going well.
take care.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
an another thing
yall is it really that hard to choose between the pillsbury dough boy* and ms. mchottymangrooves?
not for me.
i mean really something that hot should be against the law
*don't get me wrong, i love me some justin timberlake as much as the next guy (and i do mean guy) but here he is not doing it for me.
not for me.
i mean really something that hot should be against the law
*don't get me wrong, i love me some justin timberlake as much as the next guy (and i do mean guy) but here he is not doing it for me.
paging dr. troka, paging dr. troka
the day after aly, nic, and ro left, jes and i made the long trek on the A train to JFK airport to catch a plane to Atlanta.
we got to the airport with plenty of time but were taken aback at the anger hissing from most people. because of the terrible weather in the midwest, and then later along the eastern seaboard, lots and lots of folks had been in the airport for a really long time. people were yelling and shoving and pushing. it was bonkers.
we finally made it through security and set ourselves up in some of these recliner like massage chairs. you put in a dollar and it gives you this amazing back massage. i loved it. jes didn't love it. here is a picture of jes in her chair:
our flight was supposed to leave at 5:40pm. we got on the plane about 6:30 when they told us that we were ready to go but all we needed was our pilots. long story short, four hours later (for reals), after many lies, some snacks, the movie "man of the year" (not good) and (thank god) a vodka and tonic, they cancelled the flight. we were off the flight and in line to re-book at 11pm. we were about twelve people back from the front. we got up to the agent at 2am at which time he re-booked us for a flight that was scheduled to leave at 11am on thursday morning. the idea of having to take a two hour train ride home made us both cry a little so we called a car and we were home in our beds, with our kitties by 3am. our alarm went off at 8am, the car got us at 9am and we were back at the gate for our re-booked flight at 10:30am. we boarded the plane at
12:30pm, sat there until 3:30pm and finally touched down in Atlanta at 6:00pm or so. we got our rental car (PT cruiser yall) and headed to el myr. there i had the best fish burrito in the world and could only drink one pint of PBR b/c I was so tired.
Now we had planned this trip so i could TURN IN MY DISSERTATION and so that jes could use the career services at the law school at emory to search for a summer internship in Atlanta. I had planned on gathering all my signatures on Thursday, but that all had to be re-scheduled for Friday since I spent most of Thursday sitting on a plane or in an airport. I was a little bit nervous b/c my advisor was leaving town for the weekend on Friday afternoon, but I kept a postitive attitude and hoped for the best. jes had pretty much mapped out the day in an hour by hour schedule. i love her for that. we first went to java monkey to meet up with my advisor, dr. kim to get her signature. jes let me know what time we had to leave there to get to our next appt. on time. here is a picture of dr. kim and me:
she was so chill about everything and after she signed four thousand copies of shit, she made me stand up and she held my hands and then she said all this nice stuff that made me squirm and then cry and even jes teared up. it was nice. i am really excited b/c she and saralyn are going to hood me at graduation and neither of them have done that before. GO TEAM!
next we were off to layli's house to get her signatures. her house smelled of satsuma so i was instantly invigorated. we got her signatures, chatted briefly, and then headed off to our next meeting. but not before we took this pic:
as we drove away, jes briefed me on our next stop and said "i feel like we are on the amazing race." and race, we did, back to campus where jes stopped off at the law school and i went to a doctor's appointment. of course we got there just on time and i got stuck behind this fucknut in the parking deck that SERIOUSLY was going one mile an hour. jes said she was going to unleash some of her pent up flight delay rage on them, but luckily, we found a spot and headed out.
after my appt. i met up with jes, and we headed to get my third and final signature from saralyn. she was real cute too and said she really liked my diss. i was like "would you tell me if you didn't like it?" and she said "i wouldn't be signing off on it if i didn't like it." so that was nice. she is the head of the office of lgbt life on campus so we made sure our picture together was totally gay:
i've got a pretty good looking committee, don't i? they are smart too.
so that was the easy part, sort of. next up was a woman named queen. she is the woman who works in the graduate school and who you turn your five copies of your dissertation into. i was very worried about queen. i pictured her pulling out a ruler and when she found my margins were wrong, she would hit me with it. of course, none of that happened. i had all the right forms signed in all the right ways and all the right copies and after i filled out some other paperwork, she took my diss. simple as pie. here is a picture of her, jes and me:
after she took all the copies off my hands i really wanted to kiss her on the mouth, but i don't think she rolls that way. now i guess the dean of the graduate school still needs to sign off on it, so they could demand that i reprint some pages or something, but for the most part I AM DONE WITH MY PH.D.
can i get an amen?
amen.
i graduate in may. i can't wait.
i don't remember what we did after that, but later on in the day, we met up with christina and nikki for some celebratory salsa and margaritas at taqueria del sol. then we went back to sarah and kim's and chilled. here is a picture of their dog ruthie engaging in a little interspecies love with the stuffed animal we got her:
overall, it was a great trip. i got to see lots of folks i love, and turning in the diss has taken a load off my mind. but honestly, i don't feel any different and i still have no job come wednesday even though i do have a ph.d.
oh bother.
on a happier note: last night jes made the most divine snack and so simple: a bartlett pear cut in half and cored. drizzle honey on it and top wiht walnuts. SO DELISH- try it!
we got to the airport with plenty of time but were taken aback at the anger hissing from most people. because of the terrible weather in the midwest, and then later along the eastern seaboard, lots and lots of folks had been in the airport for a really long time. people were yelling and shoving and pushing. it was bonkers.
we finally made it through security and set ourselves up in some of these recliner like massage chairs. you put in a dollar and it gives you this amazing back massage. i loved it. jes didn't love it. here is a picture of jes in her chair:
our flight was supposed to leave at 5:40pm. we got on the plane about 6:30 when they told us that we were ready to go but all we needed was our pilots. long story short, four hours later (for reals), after many lies, some snacks, the movie "man of the year" (not good) and (thank god) a vodka and tonic, they cancelled the flight. we were off the flight and in line to re-book at 11pm. we were about twelve people back from the front. we got up to the agent at 2am at which time he re-booked us for a flight that was scheduled to leave at 11am on thursday morning. the idea of having to take a two hour train ride home made us both cry a little so we called a car and we were home in our beds, with our kitties by 3am. our alarm went off at 8am, the car got us at 9am and we were back at the gate for our re-booked flight at 10:30am. we boarded the plane at
12:30pm, sat there until 3:30pm and finally touched down in Atlanta at 6:00pm or so. we got our rental car (PT cruiser yall) and headed to el myr. there i had the best fish burrito in the world and could only drink one pint of PBR b/c I was so tired.
Now we had planned this trip so i could TURN IN MY DISSERTATION and so that jes could use the career services at the law school at emory to search for a summer internship in Atlanta. I had planned on gathering all my signatures on Thursday, but that all had to be re-scheduled for Friday since I spent most of Thursday sitting on a plane or in an airport. I was a little bit nervous b/c my advisor was leaving town for the weekend on Friday afternoon, but I kept a postitive attitude and hoped for the best. jes had pretty much mapped out the day in an hour by hour schedule. i love her for that. we first went to java monkey to meet up with my advisor, dr. kim to get her signature. jes let me know what time we had to leave there to get to our next appt. on time. here is a picture of dr. kim and me:
she was so chill about everything and after she signed four thousand copies of shit, she made me stand up and she held my hands and then she said all this nice stuff that made me squirm and then cry and even jes teared up. it was nice. i am really excited b/c she and saralyn are going to hood me at graduation and neither of them have done that before. GO TEAM!
next we were off to layli's house to get her signatures. her house smelled of satsuma so i was instantly invigorated. we got her signatures, chatted briefly, and then headed off to our next meeting. but not before we took this pic:
as we drove away, jes briefed me on our next stop and said "i feel like we are on the amazing race." and race, we did, back to campus where jes stopped off at the law school and i went to a doctor's appointment. of course we got there just on time and i got stuck behind this fucknut in the parking deck that SERIOUSLY was going one mile an hour. jes said she was going to unleash some of her pent up flight delay rage on them, but luckily, we found a spot and headed out.
after my appt. i met up with jes, and we headed to get my third and final signature from saralyn. she was real cute too and said she really liked my diss. i was like "would you tell me if you didn't like it?" and she said "i wouldn't be signing off on it if i didn't like it." so that was nice. she is the head of the office of lgbt life on campus so we made sure our picture together was totally gay:
i've got a pretty good looking committee, don't i? they are smart too.
so that was the easy part, sort of. next up was a woman named queen. she is the woman who works in the graduate school and who you turn your five copies of your dissertation into. i was very worried about queen. i pictured her pulling out a ruler and when she found my margins were wrong, she would hit me with it. of course, none of that happened. i had all the right forms signed in all the right ways and all the right copies and after i filled out some other paperwork, she took my diss. simple as pie. here is a picture of her, jes and me:
after she took all the copies off my hands i really wanted to kiss her on the mouth, but i don't think she rolls that way. now i guess the dean of the graduate school still needs to sign off on it, so they could demand that i reprint some pages or something, but for the most part I AM DONE WITH MY PH.D.
can i get an amen?
amen.
i graduate in may. i can't wait.
i don't remember what we did after that, but later on in the day, we met up with christina and nikki for some celebratory salsa and margaritas at taqueria del sol. then we went back to sarah and kim's and chilled. here is a picture of their dog ruthie engaging in a little interspecies love with the stuffed animal we got her:
overall, it was a great trip. i got to see lots of folks i love, and turning in the diss has taken a load off my mind. but honestly, i don't feel any different and i still have no job come wednesday even though i do have a ph.d.
oh bother.
on a happier note: last night jes made the most divine snack and so simple: a bartlett pear cut in half and cored. drizzle honey on it and top wiht walnuts. SO DELISH- try it!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
kickin it in the big apple
our time with alyson, nicole and ro ro was really great. we did a lot of stuff, visited places we had not been yet, and got to spend some quality time just hanging out and making dinner and stuff. it was pretty cold the whole time they were here but we worked it out.
so right when they arrived i asked alyson if she liked imogen heap's music. she was like "oh my god, i just stumbled on her music and i LOVE it." and then she told me how one day when she was listening to it at home, ro just started doing this crazy dance to the first song "headlock." the song starts out real slow and then it picks up and really takes off. at the slow beginning, she pushes all her hair in her face and then when it takes off she just starts MOVING. of course, i had to see this first hand. here is a picture of the beginning of the dance:
now you know i can't pass up some dance action, so i got into with her. she was better at it and has a lot more hair than me so that part she definitely did better. by the end of their visit, we had listened to the song about twelve million times. good thing i like it. they arrived on thursday and i think we mostly chilled and got bagels for lunch and pizza for dinner. they got here so early that they were pretty exhausted from leaving their house at the ass crack. it was a nice relaxing day.
on friday we headed to the american museum of natural history. as per usual, ro fell asleep on the train and slept through the first hour of the museum. this gave us some time to just see stuff she might not be thrilled to see. my favorite part was the room with the huge whale that is all dark and blue like its underwater. they have this big screen and they show images of water and sea life. ro was still asleep and shortly thereafter, nicole took a little nap too:
ro woke up in that room and we started looking around. we spent the most time in the dinosaur area. she was really into the bones and the interactive exhibits with video and sound and of course she was READING everything. seriously yall, she is brilliant. she just reads like a maniac. here is a picture of the whole family, and then after that of just nicole and alyson. so cute.
the next day we went to the brooklyn children's museum and jes came with us on this day. i thought the museum was up near grand army plaza in north slope, but i was wrong. luckily, we drove because it was a cold day and we would have had walk some serious blocks. this museum is sort of nestled in maybe prospect heights or crown heights and it is so cool! it is really a hodge podge of all kinds of exhibits but i think ro (and us grown ups) really liked it. we knew there were going to be some special events for the chinese new year, so we excited about that too.
right at the beginning there was an exhibit on like bugs and snakes and stuff. here is a picture of rowan drawing something, maybe a turtle. they had these little benches with easels and pencil sharpeners. adorable.
and here is jes on nemo duty:
they also had this HUGE yellow python in a glass case (which was kind of sad). anywho when we first approached the case, she was kind of just chilling. then alyson came over with rowan and charmed her and she got all up and was smelling the glass:
there was also a music room where you could play different instruments. alyson was playing the tube drums:
while nicole and ro were breaking it down on the xylophones:
now there were two special programs that day. one was learn how to do a chinese yo yo and the other was the chinese lion dance. rowan was all about both. she sat right up front and when they asked for participants she was all over it. here is a picture of her learning how to do the yo yo:
and then here are two pictures of the chinese dragon. the big one is the dude who put on the program, and the little one is ro-ro trying it out for herself. how cute is that?
once it started to warm up, we headed to the park to play. we also went and saw the movie " a night at the museum" which takes place in the natural history museum we had visited a few days earlier. its a pretty funny movie. definitely worth renting on dvd.
at nights after rowan went to sleep we would either watch some tv or, on one night, we introduced nicole and alyson to apples to apples. i think they loved it. both of them were cracking up laughing within five minutes. i am not sure who won. either jes or alyson. they were both talking trash. as per usual, i pretty much sucked at it.
they left out on the beginning of the bad weather so i think they were delayed for many hours at jfk, which sucked, and then once they got to chicago the roads were a mess so driving home was hard too. luckily they made it home safe and sound. we all miss them terribly. except horace. he hid in some secret place for most of their stay.
whew that was a long post. one more to go and then yall are caught up.
so right when they arrived i asked alyson if she liked imogen heap's music. she was like "oh my god, i just stumbled on her music and i LOVE it." and then she told me how one day when she was listening to it at home, ro just started doing this crazy dance to the first song "headlock." the song starts out real slow and then it picks up and really takes off. at the slow beginning, she pushes all her hair in her face and then when it takes off she just starts MOVING. of course, i had to see this first hand. here is a picture of the beginning of the dance:
now you know i can't pass up some dance action, so i got into with her. she was better at it and has a lot more hair than me so that part she definitely did better. by the end of their visit, we had listened to the song about twelve million times. good thing i like it. they arrived on thursday and i think we mostly chilled and got bagels for lunch and pizza for dinner. they got here so early that they were pretty exhausted from leaving their house at the ass crack. it was a nice relaxing day.
on friday we headed to the american museum of natural history. as per usual, ro fell asleep on the train and slept through the first hour of the museum. this gave us some time to just see stuff she might not be thrilled to see. my favorite part was the room with the huge whale that is all dark and blue like its underwater. they have this big screen and they show images of water and sea life. ro was still asleep and shortly thereafter, nicole took a little nap too:
ro woke up in that room and we started looking around. we spent the most time in the dinosaur area. she was really into the bones and the interactive exhibits with video and sound and of course she was READING everything. seriously yall, she is brilliant. she just reads like a maniac. here is a picture of the whole family, and then after that of just nicole and alyson. so cute.
the next day we went to the brooklyn children's museum and jes came with us on this day. i thought the museum was up near grand army plaza in north slope, but i was wrong. luckily, we drove because it was a cold day and we would have had walk some serious blocks. this museum is sort of nestled in maybe prospect heights or crown heights and it is so cool! it is really a hodge podge of all kinds of exhibits but i think ro (and us grown ups) really liked it. we knew there were going to be some special events for the chinese new year, so we excited about that too.
right at the beginning there was an exhibit on like bugs and snakes and stuff. here is a picture of rowan drawing something, maybe a turtle. they had these little benches with easels and pencil sharpeners. adorable.
and here is jes on nemo duty:
they also had this HUGE yellow python in a glass case (which was kind of sad). anywho when we first approached the case, she was kind of just chilling. then alyson came over with rowan and charmed her and she got all up and was smelling the glass:
there was also a music room where you could play different instruments. alyson was playing the tube drums:
while nicole and ro were breaking it down on the xylophones:
now there were two special programs that day. one was learn how to do a chinese yo yo and the other was the chinese lion dance. rowan was all about both. she sat right up front and when they asked for participants she was all over it. here is a picture of her learning how to do the yo yo:
and then here are two pictures of the chinese dragon. the big one is the dude who put on the program, and the little one is ro-ro trying it out for herself. how cute is that?
once it started to warm up, we headed to the park to play. we also went and saw the movie " a night at the museum" which takes place in the natural history museum we had visited a few days earlier. its a pretty funny movie. definitely worth renting on dvd.
at nights after rowan went to sleep we would either watch some tv or, on one night, we introduced nicole and alyson to apples to apples. i think they loved it. both of them were cracking up laughing within five minutes. i am not sure who won. either jes or alyson. they were both talking trash. as per usual, i pretty much sucked at it.
they left out on the beginning of the bad weather so i think they were delayed for many hours at jfk, which sucked, and then once they got to chicago the roads were a mess so driving home was hard too. luckily they made it home safe and sound. we all miss them terribly. except horace. he hid in some secret place for most of their stay.
whew that was a long post. one more to go and then yall are caught up.
why i have been remiss
Really there are a number of reasons, all of them understandable. They are:
1. Alyson, Nicole and Rowan visited and we took in the town.
2. Because of bad weather here in New York and a poor response in general from JFK (the airport not the president), our flight to Atlanta was cancelled on Wednesday and we didn’t get to Atlanta until Thursday night. Lots of fun details about that to follow.
3. I turned in my dissertation to the graduate school and they accepted it, so I guess I am done. Unless I get a call from the dean, I am graduating in May. HOLLA.
So lets just re-cap what the next few posts will cover: aly, nick & ro, why we hated delta for a minute & finishing the diss. It will probably take at least three posts, with pictures of course. So here we go.
Actually before I launch into my time with my peeps, let me tell you quickly about making waffles. One day I noticed that Ali had a waffle maker. I love homemade waffles. Growing up my mom, and then later on in life, my dad would make a triple batch of homemade waffles and freeze them and that would be our breakfast for weeks. Now when Jes and I go to Colorado to see my sister and her family, we often make waffles. So I got the recipe from her and invited Ali over for a waffle extravaganza. Long story short, her waffle maker was for Belgian waffles, my recipe was for regular waffles, so they didn’t turn out great, but they were certainly edible. Here are some photos of Jes and Ali eating waffles. Jes has preserves on hers, Ali has peanut butter and maple syrup on hers (I know, that sounds gross, but you should try it, its pretty good).
and here is just a cute picture of the kitties-- all three of them-- on the kitty condo:
A few weeks later, my nephew Ben (read: his mom, my big sister) sent Jes and I a fancy waffle maker: Belgian on one side, heart shaped regular waffles on the other side. Can’t wait to fire that bad boy up.
ok i am going to make a new post for each new topic.
next topic:
aly, nik and ro in the big apple
1. Alyson, Nicole and Rowan visited and we took in the town.
2. Because of bad weather here in New York and a poor response in general from JFK (the airport not the president), our flight to Atlanta was cancelled on Wednesday and we didn’t get to Atlanta until Thursday night. Lots of fun details about that to follow.
3. I turned in my dissertation to the graduate school and they accepted it, so I guess I am done. Unless I get a call from the dean, I am graduating in May. HOLLA.
So lets just re-cap what the next few posts will cover: aly, nick & ro, why we hated delta for a minute & finishing the diss. It will probably take at least three posts, with pictures of course. So here we go.
Actually before I launch into my time with my peeps, let me tell you quickly about making waffles. One day I noticed that Ali had a waffle maker. I love homemade waffles. Growing up my mom, and then later on in life, my dad would make a triple batch of homemade waffles and freeze them and that would be our breakfast for weeks. Now when Jes and I go to Colorado to see my sister and her family, we often make waffles. So I got the recipe from her and invited Ali over for a waffle extravaganza. Long story short, her waffle maker was for Belgian waffles, my recipe was for regular waffles, so they didn’t turn out great, but they were certainly edible. Here are some photos of Jes and Ali eating waffles. Jes has preserves on hers, Ali has peanut butter and maple syrup on hers (I know, that sounds gross, but you should try it, its pretty good).
and here is just a cute picture of the kitties-- all three of them-- on the kitty condo:
A few weeks later, my nephew Ben (read: his mom, my big sister) sent Jes and I a fancy waffle maker: Belgian on one side, heart shaped regular waffles on the other side. Can’t wait to fire that bad boy up.
ok i am going to make a new post for each new topic.
next topic:
aly, nik and ro in the big apple
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
15 years ago today...
i kissed a girl for the first time
on my roommate joie's bed
in my dorm room
at university of illinois
and i haven't looked back since
fifteen years of lady lovin
praise baby jesus
even if he did let the colts win
on my roommate joie's bed
in my dorm room
at university of illinois
and i haven't looked back since
fifteen years of lady lovin
praise baby jesus
even if he did let the colts win
Saturday, February 03, 2007
a letter to baby jesus
dear sweet baby jesus:
chillin in your golden baby robe with your blue and orange bears onesie underneath
please help sexy rexy throw lots of hail mary (in tribute to your momma) passes that other bears dudes catch for touchdowns
please also help sexy rexy not get sacked too much. i hate when that happens.
also, babyjesus, can you help the bears defensive line (is that right?) sack that manning guy a lot. watching our opponents quarterback get sacked is fun.
i know you are going to be real busy this weekend and all with the tornado in florida that happened recently, but if you could just give da bears your blessing, i'd really appreciate it.
have a great saturday baby jesus.
love,
donna
chillin in your golden baby robe with your blue and orange bears onesie underneath
please help sexy rexy throw lots of hail mary (in tribute to your momma) passes that other bears dudes catch for touchdowns
please also help sexy rexy not get sacked too much. i hate when that happens.
also, babyjesus, can you help the bears defensive line (is that right?) sack that manning guy a lot. watching our opponents quarterback get sacked is fun.
i know you are going to be real busy this weekend and all with the tornado in florida that happened recently, but if you could just give da bears your blessing, i'd really appreciate it.
have a great saturday baby jesus.
love,
donna
Sunday, January 28, 2007
a short film you can watch on line
hey yall:
you might want to check out this film called "girl like me." you can watch it on line at:
http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/6/a_girl_like_me/
to watch it, click underneath the picture of the sweet little girl with the dolls.
maybe post what you think about it.
love, dj
you might want to check out this film called "girl like me." you can watch it on line at:
http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/6/a_girl_like_me/
to watch it, click underneath the picture of the sweet little girl with the dolls.
maybe post what you think about it.
love, dj
a few things that have happened in the last few days
jes is still asleep, so i figured i would use this time to blog one more time. then i will be totally caught up and tonight i can gather pictures of bambino to create my l word post. perhaps you remember it from last year, that one was according to theo, sand's wonder dog.
ok so what has been going on?
1. this morning i woke up and had a bloody nose. not a run down your face and cake your skin bloody nose, but more of a blow your nose in the morning, the tissue is filled with blood so you stick another tissue up your nostrils and let that soak with blood.i think its b/c our apartment is so hot and dry. good times.
2. yesterday afternoon jes and i went to her school to study. then we picked up ali and kim and headed to this tattoo joint in williamsburg called saved. kim and i talked to joseph about our tattoos. she is getting hers in february. if she lets me, i will post a pic of it on the blog. i just explained mine some more and then he did a tracing of my arm. i have to call him at the end of february to see if he has a drawing finished.
3. after tattoo consults we went to key food to get the fixins for waffles. kim got the fixins for some chicken cutlet with bacon or something. she was making dinner for her and glennda. we dropped off kim and came back here to make waffles. ali has a waffle maker. what we learned throughout the course of the night was this: her waffle maker is a BELGIAN WAFFLE MAKER. my recipe for batter was for regular waffles. so they turned out ok but not like when we make them at kath's. needless to say, we each ate a few. jes had hers with butter and jam, i had mine with organic maple syrup and ali had hers with PEANUT BUTTER & MAPLE SYRUP. sounds gross doesn't it? its not so bad. you should try it. i took pics. i will post them later. then we watched an old episode of "heros." ali has hooked jes into it.
4. on friday night it was artic cold out. jes and i met ali up at jes's school for a wine tasting that was sponsored by this food and wine student group at jes's school. now the last wine tasting i went to was at emory and i got FUCKED UP. i was de-runk. this was because a. i drank everything they put in front of me and b. i did not eat before hand. so jes and i carb loaded before hand and i only had sips of the white wine (there were FIVE) and a couple of sips of the red wine (ALSO FIVE). i did drink the entire serving of the rosso she gave us and most of the pinot noir (who knew i was so mainstream in my wine tastes?) anywho it was headed up by this quirky old white lady with long thin white and silver hair piled on top of her head, baggy black stretch pants, a tan fisherman's sweater and a silver cat pin right over her left boob. she was crazy knowledgable and by wine six or so, she was swearing up a storm saying "fuck" and "shit" and "piss." we were laughing our asses off.
jes and ali were tipsy by wine 7 for sure even though we each ate a loaf of bread and three pounds of cheese. ali DID NOT eat before the tasting, even though we told her to. bad ali.
now the funniest part was when we got there (it was in this lovely reception room at the top of feil hall that has these amazing views of brooklyn and manhattan), anywho there were three round tables that sat about 8-10 people each. when we arrived, there were four women at one table and no one at the other two. i chose our seats at one of the vacant tables. do you know that every single person that came in chose to sit at both the other tables INSTEAD of sitting with jes, ali and i, to the point that they BROUGHT CHAIRS OVER TO THE OTHER TABLES so they wouldn't have to sit with the queers.
(lets just say there was no real gender non-normativity going on at the other tables so we stuck out a bit). ali kept saying "but all the girls look the same" and they sort of did. i reminded her they were probably saying the same thing about us.
aside from the "avoid the queer cooties" incident, it was a good time. the guy who planned it, j.j. sat with us, so that was nice. and we learned a lot about wine for sure. after eating all that bread and cheese, we took the bus to daisy's diner where we had???? you guessed it: grilled cheese and fries. the weird thing there was that of the six or eight booths at the front of the diner, three of the four that were occupied were occupied by lesbo couples. who knew daisy's was so queer? after that, jes and i went home and crashed and ali walked up to gingers and met up with glennda and kim.
today our plan is to work out, get a bagel from terrace bagels, do work all day and then head to g & k's for l word.
hope yall have a great day.
ok so what has been going on?
1. this morning i woke up and had a bloody nose. not a run down your face and cake your skin bloody nose, but more of a blow your nose in the morning, the tissue is filled with blood so you stick another tissue up your nostrils and let that soak with blood.i think its b/c our apartment is so hot and dry. good times.
2. yesterday afternoon jes and i went to her school to study. then we picked up ali and kim and headed to this tattoo joint in williamsburg called saved. kim and i talked to joseph about our tattoos. she is getting hers in february. if she lets me, i will post a pic of it on the blog. i just explained mine some more and then he did a tracing of my arm. i have to call him at the end of february to see if he has a drawing finished.
3. after tattoo consults we went to key food to get the fixins for waffles. kim got the fixins for some chicken cutlet with bacon or something. she was making dinner for her and glennda. we dropped off kim and came back here to make waffles. ali has a waffle maker. what we learned throughout the course of the night was this: her waffle maker is a BELGIAN WAFFLE MAKER. my recipe for batter was for regular waffles. so they turned out ok but not like when we make them at kath's. needless to say, we each ate a few. jes had hers with butter and jam, i had mine with organic maple syrup and ali had hers with PEANUT BUTTER & MAPLE SYRUP. sounds gross doesn't it? its not so bad. you should try it. i took pics. i will post them later. then we watched an old episode of "heros." ali has hooked jes into it.
4. on friday night it was artic cold out. jes and i met ali up at jes's school for a wine tasting that was sponsored by this food and wine student group at jes's school. now the last wine tasting i went to was at emory and i got FUCKED UP. i was de-runk. this was because a. i drank everything they put in front of me and b. i did not eat before hand. so jes and i carb loaded before hand and i only had sips of the white wine (there were FIVE) and a couple of sips of the red wine (ALSO FIVE). i did drink the entire serving of the rosso she gave us and most of the pinot noir (who knew i was so mainstream in my wine tastes?) anywho it was headed up by this quirky old white lady with long thin white and silver hair piled on top of her head, baggy black stretch pants, a tan fisherman's sweater and a silver cat pin right over her left boob. she was crazy knowledgable and by wine six or so, she was swearing up a storm saying "fuck" and "shit" and "piss." we were laughing our asses off.
jes and ali were tipsy by wine 7 for sure even though we each ate a loaf of bread and three pounds of cheese. ali DID NOT eat before the tasting, even though we told her to. bad ali.
now the funniest part was when we got there (it was in this lovely reception room at the top of feil hall that has these amazing views of brooklyn and manhattan), anywho there were three round tables that sat about 8-10 people each. when we arrived, there were four women at one table and no one at the other two. i chose our seats at one of the vacant tables. do you know that every single person that came in chose to sit at both the other tables INSTEAD of sitting with jes, ali and i, to the point that they BROUGHT CHAIRS OVER TO THE OTHER TABLES so they wouldn't have to sit with the queers.
(lets just say there was no real gender non-normativity going on at the other tables so we stuck out a bit). ali kept saying "but all the girls look the same" and they sort of did. i reminded her they were probably saying the same thing about us.
aside from the "avoid the queer cooties" incident, it was a good time. the guy who planned it, j.j. sat with us, so that was nice. and we learned a lot about wine for sure. after eating all that bread and cheese, we took the bus to daisy's diner where we had???? you guessed it: grilled cheese and fries. the weird thing there was that of the six or eight booths at the front of the diner, three of the four that were occupied were occupied by lesbo couples. who knew daisy's was so queer? after that, jes and i went home and crashed and ali walked up to gingers and met up with glennda and kim.
today our plan is to work out, get a bagel from terrace bagels, do work all day and then head to g & k's for l word.
hope yall have a great day.
mexico post number dos
i know its almost been a month since we got home from mexico, so this second post is LONG OVERDUE.
its going to be heavy on the pictures (your favorite part i bet) and light on the stories (the part you tolerate).
so lets get going.
after a few days of going to beaches nearer to the house we were staying in, we headed to puerto vallarta. we drove around for a while looking for this gay beach we had heard about and when we finally got there, it wasn't all that. but the good part is we got to drive around through all these resort areas and really see some beautiful sights. once we settled on the beach, jes and shoshana went to play, mary and dusty went and sat on these blue chairs and i sat on the beach and took in the ambience and told the twelve million people trying to sell me stuff "no gracias." here is a picture of dusty & mary on that beach. so lovely:
after we got done at the beach, we headed to the airport and picked up sarah & cat. the next day we wanted them to see a real pretty beach, so we went back to the family beach. that was the day i jammed my finger playing catch with a football with mary. i didn't have the gumption to pull my finger out (i remember from softball that is what you are supposed to do to reduce swelling) but i did have the presence of mind to take my ring off so i wouldn't have to get it cut off. my ring still doesn't fit on my finger. i think it's permanent, jes thinks it just "takes time." so anyway, here is a picture of the gang at the family beach:
there was this restaurant down by the beach in sayulita that we kind of liked, so one day a bunch of us went down there and got some margaritas. we had no idea what we were in for. here are dusty and sarah sharing dusty's:
after margaritas, we walked down along the coast in sayulita to see some of the hotels down there and to see the cemetary beach (you had to walk through a cemetary to get there). we passed this gorgeous high end hotel called "villa amor." clearly lots of folks get married there because there was this ring that looked out over the ocean and you could take a pic in front of it. here are jes and i showing you how its done:
perhaps that will be our holiday card for next year. just kidding.
on new years eve we went and got a real nice dinner. i got some chicken soup i think. then we went home and played a little taboo and some apples to apples and drank homemade margaritas i think. then at midnight we went out by the pool and watched the fireworks while toasting in the new year with shots of pineapple juice. i think that was the coldest night we were there. i am sure it was only like 60 but it felt freezing:
on the days where we stuck closer to home to go to the beach, we would usually return back to the house around 2 or 3pm, have a snack and maybe a margarita and relax in the pool or take a nap. here are some pics of of cat and i chillin and chattin by (and in) the infinity pool):
toward the end of our trip, jes and i decided to go down to the beach and take a surfing lesson. the town we stayed in, sayulita, is known as a fishing village and a surfing village. we met up with our surf teacher kalle at 11am. it was just the two of us, so it was really nice. first he explained the process of surfing and all the do's and don'ts. i was a little bit nervous and jes was so excited. yall, it was so much fun. when it came down to it, jes was much better at surfing than me (no big surprise there) BUT i did get up on the board a few times. after an hour and a half of a lesson, we got to keep the boards for another hour. i was sort of over it by then, but jes went and practiced for another hour. it started to get busier during that time and there were all these dudes getting in her way, so that sucked. while she surfed that last hour, i made friends with this little boy who was four years old. i realized i actually speak spanish BELOW a four year old level, but we were able to talk about his dogs (one brown and one white) and play this game where we would write our names in the sand (i think his name was miguel) and then scream when the ocean would come and wash it away. it was good times. anywho, here is jes and i the morning of surfing:
now one day when we were driving around we went through a town or part called "banderas" and i was like "i wonder if this is where antonio banderas is from." so that sort of became a joke, that is, asking where antonio banderas is in spanish: "donde esta antonio banderas?" so the last night we were there, we went to this restaurant and everyone (but me) got HUGE pina coladas (no me gusta the pina colada). here is a picture of dusty with hers, if there was a caption, it would say "donde esta antonio banderas-i would like to share my pina colada with him":
this last picture we took the morning we departed. mary had left the day before, so she isn't in it (oh bother) but i think it is a cute photo nonetheless:
you know its been fairly cold here in new york this last week and i have been extra pissy about it and i think, in part, its because i got to experience a little bit of summer paradise in mexico and then i had to say goodbye to it and come back to the cold. jes and i had such an amazing time and we miss everyone we were with and hope we get to go back again.
happy sunday yall.
its going to be heavy on the pictures (your favorite part i bet) and light on the stories (the part you tolerate).
so lets get going.
after a few days of going to beaches nearer to the house we were staying in, we headed to puerto vallarta. we drove around for a while looking for this gay beach we had heard about and when we finally got there, it wasn't all that. but the good part is we got to drive around through all these resort areas and really see some beautiful sights. once we settled on the beach, jes and shoshana went to play, mary and dusty went and sat on these blue chairs and i sat on the beach and took in the ambience and told the twelve million people trying to sell me stuff "no gracias." here is a picture of dusty & mary on that beach. so lovely:
after we got done at the beach, we headed to the airport and picked up sarah & cat. the next day we wanted them to see a real pretty beach, so we went back to the family beach. that was the day i jammed my finger playing catch with a football with mary. i didn't have the gumption to pull my finger out (i remember from softball that is what you are supposed to do to reduce swelling) but i did have the presence of mind to take my ring off so i wouldn't have to get it cut off. my ring still doesn't fit on my finger. i think it's permanent, jes thinks it just "takes time." so anyway, here is a picture of the gang at the family beach:
there was this restaurant down by the beach in sayulita that we kind of liked, so one day a bunch of us went down there and got some margaritas. we had no idea what we were in for. here are dusty and sarah sharing dusty's:
after margaritas, we walked down along the coast in sayulita to see some of the hotels down there and to see the cemetary beach (you had to walk through a cemetary to get there). we passed this gorgeous high end hotel called "villa amor." clearly lots of folks get married there because there was this ring that looked out over the ocean and you could take a pic in front of it. here are jes and i showing you how its done:
perhaps that will be our holiday card for next year. just kidding.
on new years eve we went and got a real nice dinner. i got some chicken soup i think. then we went home and played a little taboo and some apples to apples and drank homemade margaritas i think. then at midnight we went out by the pool and watched the fireworks while toasting in the new year with shots of pineapple juice. i think that was the coldest night we were there. i am sure it was only like 60 but it felt freezing:
on the days where we stuck closer to home to go to the beach, we would usually return back to the house around 2 or 3pm, have a snack and maybe a margarita and relax in the pool or take a nap. here are some pics of of cat and i chillin and chattin by (and in) the infinity pool):
toward the end of our trip, jes and i decided to go down to the beach and take a surfing lesson. the town we stayed in, sayulita, is known as a fishing village and a surfing village. we met up with our surf teacher kalle at 11am. it was just the two of us, so it was really nice. first he explained the process of surfing and all the do's and don'ts. i was a little bit nervous and jes was so excited. yall, it was so much fun. when it came down to it, jes was much better at surfing than me (no big surprise there) BUT i did get up on the board a few times. after an hour and a half of a lesson, we got to keep the boards for another hour. i was sort of over it by then, but jes went and practiced for another hour. it started to get busier during that time and there were all these dudes getting in her way, so that sucked. while she surfed that last hour, i made friends with this little boy who was four years old. i realized i actually speak spanish BELOW a four year old level, but we were able to talk about his dogs (one brown and one white) and play this game where we would write our names in the sand (i think his name was miguel) and then scream when the ocean would come and wash it away. it was good times. anywho, here is jes and i the morning of surfing:
now one day when we were driving around we went through a town or part called "banderas" and i was like "i wonder if this is where antonio banderas is from." so that sort of became a joke, that is, asking where antonio banderas is in spanish: "donde esta antonio banderas?" so the last night we were there, we went to this restaurant and everyone (but me) got HUGE pina coladas (no me gusta the pina colada). here is a picture of dusty with hers, if there was a caption, it would say "donde esta antonio banderas-i would like to share my pina colada with him":
this last picture we took the morning we departed. mary had left the day before, so she isn't in it (oh bother) but i think it is a cute photo nonetheless:
you know its been fairly cold here in new york this last week and i have been extra pissy about it and i think, in part, its because i got to experience a little bit of summer paradise in mexico and then i had to say goodbye to it and come back to the cold. jes and i had such an amazing time and we miss everyone we were with and hope we get to go back again.
happy sunday yall.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
a post from my friend sarah, the saints fan...
A loss? Not to Saints fans in New Orleans
By Wright Thompson
ESPN.com
NEW ORLEANS -- When it was finally over, a woman walked down Hillary Street and she cried. Her makeup was gone. Her eyes were red and puffy.
A few blocks away, a lifelong Saints fan named Stan Gelpi looked up from his empty glass of beer at a stunned Uptown bar. An hour earlier, he'd been plotting a trip to the Super Bowl. Now, he was lost.
Then it hit him, like it hit thousands around this heartbroken town.
"I'm going to the airport," he announced. "They brought hope to this city when nobody else could. The mayor sucks. The governor sucks. The legislature sucks. The president sucks. The only thing that doesn't suck is that team. They brought hope to this city, and I'm going to the airport."
Men, women and children poured out of bars and houses, from Uptown to the Quarter, from New Orleans East to Metairie, and they piled into their cars. Only this time they weren't evacuating. They were going to meet their team. Some stopped at drugstores and made signs. They wrote "Thanks for an awesome season" and "We Believe" and, simply, "Bless you boys."
So much in professional sports is canned, and this was something real, something spontaneous and pure. Through a neighborhood they drove, down a winding, dark road to a private terminal where the team's charter would land. Cars parked, one after another, the headlights looking like that scene from "Field of Dreams." Fans brought coolers and bottles of wine, standing in the pouring rain, giving something back to the team that gave them so much.
"Two miles, 'til the end of the road, it's bumper to bumper," said Saints fan Colin Ross, pointing at the people lining up near the runway. "There's little kids down there yelling 'Who Dat?' on the hoods of cars."
The people who stayed all night will never forget it. Some arrived as early as 7. Others trickled in over the next few hours as word began to spread: Ice had delayed the charter flight. The team was still in Chicago.
In New Orleans, they had a little time to think about the year. Some cried. Karen Porche wiped a tear away and laughed a bit at herself. Most know it's crazy to care so much for a team. You had to be there, on the side of the road in a rainstorm, to understand.
"They brought us a lot of hope," she said. "We had six feet of water in our house." Her husband, Charlie, said, "and they helped." "You can't be mad at these guys for losing this game," Karen said.
As people waited, the craziest thing happened. What started as a funeral turned into a celebration -- a celebration not just of a team, but of themselves. The beers they raised were toasts to their own resiliency. Fans screamed. They chanted. They sang that U2 song "The Saints are Coming." "I feel like we won," Ross said.
Liquor flowed. A man showed up with a trombone and began playing "When the Saints Go Marchin' In." The guy with the "We Believe" sign, who lost his house in St. Bernard Parish, swayed in time to the music.
When a cop turned on his loudspeaker at 10:40 and announced, "The plane has left Chicago," the party went to another level. Size estimates vary. There were about 500 or so right at the gate; but with cars lined up for miles, the number was surely higher.
A young man named Michael Mulé began running up and down the street, leading the wave. The crowd responded, people raising their arms as he sprinted, finally falling to his knees in the pouring rain, the loudest damn screaming you've ever heard embracing him, his hands raised toward the sky, feeling the drops land on his face. He pulled out his asthma inhaler and took a deep
breath.
"I think the momentum and the hope that they've given us," he said, "is going to carry over into the whole rebuilding process. Everybody's counting us out, but we still have that hope. It sounds so corny. It sounds so cliché, but they're getting us going."
Eleven o'clock turned into midnight; 1 a.m. inched closer until someone spotted an airplane. The trombone started playing again.
"There they are!" a woman yelled. "We believe," another screamed.
Players and coaches cranked their cars. To get out, they had to drive down a street lined with people. The fans took pictures of the Saints. The Saints took pictures of the fans. A man chased after Drew Brees' car with a black and gold flag. One drunken fan bummed a light from a member of the caravan.
Head coach Sean Payton rolled down his window to soak up the scene. One after another, fans told him, "Thank you." He looked out at the screaming, frothing mass of people.
"Unbelievable," he said.
Defensive back and fan favorite Steve Gleason signed autographs and gave high-fives. It was well past 1 in the morning, rain coming down hard again.
"It makes me proud," Gleason said. "It makes me proud to be a part of this city."
So many things in New Orleans are still wrong; but on this night, one thing was right. More than right. It was perfect.
All things end, of course. Even Mardi Gras has a morning after. When the last Saint pulled away, the crowd dispersed. Some of them were going back to FEMA trailers. Many still haven't rebuilt their homes. Most have family members spread from coast to coast. The city remains battered and beaten, entire swaths of it empty. It's half the size it was before the storm.
Three young men walked through the rain toward their car. One carried a Saints flag. Another looked around and sighed.
"Now," he said, "back to reality."
By Wright Thompson
ESPN.com
NEW ORLEANS -- When it was finally over, a woman walked down Hillary Street and she cried. Her makeup was gone. Her eyes were red and puffy.
A few blocks away, a lifelong Saints fan named Stan Gelpi looked up from his empty glass of beer at a stunned Uptown bar. An hour earlier, he'd been plotting a trip to the Super Bowl. Now, he was lost.
Then it hit him, like it hit thousands around this heartbroken town.
"I'm going to the airport," he announced. "They brought hope to this city when nobody else could. The mayor sucks. The governor sucks. The legislature sucks. The president sucks. The only thing that doesn't suck is that team. They brought hope to this city, and I'm going to the airport."
Men, women and children poured out of bars and houses, from Uptown to the Quarter, from New Orleans East to Metairie, and they piled into their cars. Only this time they weren't evacuating. They were going to meet their team. Some stopped at drugstores and made signs. They wrote "Thanks for an awesome season" and "We Believe" and, simply, "Bless you boys."
So much in professional sports is canned, and this was something real, something spontaneous and pure. Through a neighborhood they drove, down a winding, dark road to a private terminal where the team's charter would land. Cars parked, one after another, the headlights looking like that scene from "Field of Dreams." Fans brought coolers and bottles of wine, standing in the pouring rain, giving something back to the team that gave them so much.
"Two miles, 'til the end of the road, it's bumper to bumper," said Saints fan Colin Ross, pointing at the people lining up near the runway. "There's little kids down there yelling 'Who Dat?' on the hoods of cars."
The people who stayed all night will never forget it. Some arrived as early as 7. Others trickled in over the next few hours as word began to spread: Ice had delayed the charter flight. The team was still in Chicago.
In New Orleans, they had a little time to think about the year. Some cried. Karen Porche wiped a tear away and laughed a bit at herself. Most know it's crazy to care so much for a team. You had to be there, on the side of the road in a rainstorm, to understand.
"They brought us a lot of hope," she said. "We had six feet of water in our house." Her husband, Charlie, said, "and they helped." "You can't be mad at these guys for losing this game," Karen said.
As people waited, the craziest thing happened. What started as a funeral turned into a celebration -- a celebration not just of a team, but of themselves. The beers they raised were toasts to their own resiliency. Fans screamed. They chanted. They sang that U2 song "The Saints are Coming." "I feel like we won," Ross said.
Liquor flowed. A man showed up with a trombone and began playing "When the Saints Go Marchin' In." The guy with the "We Believe" sign, who lost his house in St. Bernard Parish, swayed in time to the music.
When a cop turned on his loudspeaker at 10:40 and announced, "The plane has left Chicago," the party went to another level. Size estimates vary. There were about 500 or so right at the gate; but with cars lined up for miles, the number was surely higher.
A young man named Michael Mulé began running up and down the street, leading the wave. The crowd responded, people raising their arms as he sprinted, finally falling to his knees in the pouring rain, the loudest damn screaming you've ever heard embracing him, his hands raised toward the sky, feeling the drops land on his face. He pulled out his asthma inhaler and took a deep
breath.
"I think the momentum and the hope that they've given us," he said, "is going to carry over into the whole rebuilding process. Everybody's counting us out, but we still have that hope. It sounds so corny. It sounds so cliché, but they're getting us going."
Eleven o'clock turned into midnight; 1 a.m. inched closer until someone spotted an airplane. The trombone started playing again.
"There they are!" a woman yelled. "We believe," another screamed.
Players and coaches cranked their cars. To get out, they had to drive down a street lined with people. The fans took pictures of the Saints. The Saints took pictures of the fans. A man chased after Drew Brees' car with a black and gold flag. One drunken fan bummed a light from a member of the caravan.
Head coach Sean Payton rolled down his window to soak up the scene. One after another, fans told him, "Thank you." He looked out at the screaming, frothing mass of people.
"Unbelievable," he said.
Defensive back and fan favorite Steve Gleason signed autographs and gave high-fives. It was well past 1 in the morning, rain coming down hard again.
"It makes me proud," Gleason said. "It makes me proud to be a part of this city."
So many things in New Orleans are still wrong; but on this night, one thing was right. More than right. It was perfect.
All things end, of course. Even Mardi Gras has a morning after. When the last Saint pulled away, the crowd dispersed. Some of them were going back to FEMA trailers. Many still haven't rebuilt their homes. Most have family members spread from coast to coast. The city remains battered and beaten, entire swaths of it empty. It's half the size it was before the storm.
Three young men walked through the rain toward their car. One carried a Saints flag. Another looked around and sighed.
"Now," he said, "back to reality."
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
pointing out one edit
hey yall
i was just chatting with my best friend azad who lives in chicago and he pointed out that in my post entitled "DA BEARS" i had mis named the bears the "monsters of the midwest" when in fact they are the "monsters of the MIDWAY"
i think i got them mixed up with my dissertation title. isn't that funny?
anywho, thanks az for clearing that up. where would i be without you?
i was just chatting with my best friend azad who lives in chicago and he pointed out that in my post entitled "DA BEARS" i had mis named the bears the "monsters of the midwest" when in fact they are the "monsters of the MIDWAY"
i think i got them mixed up with my dissertation title. isn't that funny?
anywho, thanks az for clearing that up. where would i be without you?
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