Remember a few posts back when I bloooooogged about how I was getting some newbie neighbors mail?
Well I kept returning the packages to the post office, but oddly a few of them got returned BACK to me. Even after I brought them to the post office and everything.
Well so anyway today I decided to run the senders name through Facebook. (I deserve no credit at all for this brainwave. My friend MattieMattMatt suggested this trick. )
And lo and behold the sender is indeed on Facebook! I emailed the person, and she emailed me back and turns out that the mailing address was off by a number so I was able to pop the package to the right person this very evening.
I wish I'd been able to meet him though. The packages were addressed to John "Babyfingers" Doe and I am SO curious about that.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Take THAT damn Taliban.
I am still PISSED at the Taliban for assassinating Malalai Kakar. So I've figured out how to get back at them.
I signed up for Kiva.
Basically for $25 a pop I get to make a micro loan to another person. It's literally just a loan. You simply pick a borrower, lend them the money, and then you get paid back over time. I created my account with some of the money I won in a raffle so I didn't really even feel it, which works out to $25 for me, and $25 on behalf of my sister. Because at the end of the day we are two lucky girls with everything we need and more. Why not spread the love?
Anyway, personally I am going to make it a point to pick women. Just my way of sticking it to the Taliban.
Oh and by the way, it is totally addictive. I wish I had tons more to give.
I signed up for Kiva.
Basically for $25 a pop I get to make a micro loan to another person. It's literally just a loan. You simply pick a borrower, lend them the money, and then you get paid back over time. I created my account with some of the money I won in a raffle so I didn't really even feel it, which works out to $25 for me, and $25 on behalf of my sister. Because at the end of the day we are two lucky girls with everything we need and more. Why not spread the love?
Anyway, personally I am going to make it a point to pick women. Just my way of sticking it to the Taliban.
Oh and by the way, it is totally addictive. I wish I had tons more to give.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
And the Beat goes on. Without me though.
Yeah, I wussed out on the 5k I was meant to run today.
At least the money goes to a good cause.
But I am still a wuss who won't run in the rain.
At least the money goes to a good cause.
But I am still a wuss who won't run in the rain.
I HATE the Taliban. I really do.
A top ranking Afghan police officer was assassinated today and for some reason this particular news item really got under my skin.
This police officer was a senior officer who led the department of crimes against women. A pretty formidable task in Afghanistan made even more so by the fact that this officer was a woman, her name was Malalai Kakar. Marie Claire magazine did an article on her (read it HERE) and reading it made me even more pissed at the Taliban.
For many in Afghanistan this woman had no business being outside, let alone to hold a job, and never mind that she held public office. However she believed in what she was doing and believed that she had a duty to help others that was bigger that her own life.
Ms. Kakar was a woman in a country where the previous regime believed that women are simply property of a man. Like a spoon or a chicken. Well except you can put a spoon to work, and a chicken is allowed outside. This is something I think a lot of American women like myself have a hard time imagining, because after all it's imagination - we can escape it by simply opening our eyes.
This makes me so mad. And so appreciative that I live where I do and have the life that I have. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the Muslim religion, as I do any other faith, when it is not corrupted by extremism. I know plenty of Muslim women, some cover their hair and some don't, but all are true believers and their faith isn't lessened by how they practice it.
I am angry with the Taliban for killing her and for being so self-righteous about it. They believe that they are following the word of God, but they are not. They are vengeful and petty ignorant fanatics who follow a corrupted version of Islam. I expect that Ms. Kakar will find her reward in paradise while her assassins will not.
This police officer was a senior officer who led the department of crimes against women. A pretty formidable task in Afghanistan made even more so by the fact that this officer was a woman, her name was Malalai Kakar. Marie Claire magazine did an article on her (read it HERE) and reading it made me even more pissed at the Taliban.
For many in Afghanistan this woman had no business being outside, let alone to hold a job, and never mind that she held public office. However she believed in what she was doing and believed that she had a duty to help others that was bigger that her own life.
Ms. Kakar was a woman in a country where the previous regime believed that women are simply property of a man. Like a spoon or a chicken. Well except you can put a spoon to work, and a chicken is allowed outside. This is something I think a lot of American women like myself have a hard time imagining, because after all it's imagination - we can escape it by simply opening our eyes.
This makes me so mad. And so appreciative that I live where I do and have the life that I have. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the Muslim religion, as I do any other faith, when it is not corrupted by extremism. I know plenty of Muslim women, some cover their hair and some don't, but all are true believers and their faith isn't lessened by how they practice it.
I am angry with the Taliban for killing her and for being so self-righteous about it. They believe that they are following the word of God, but they are not. They are vengeful and petty ignorant fanatics who follow a corrupted version of Islam. I expect that Ms. Kakar will find her reward in paradise while her assassins will not.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Oh nuts. That race I signed up for 6 months ago is TOMORROW.
Uh, and I am woefully unready.
Which in some way feels completely appropriate.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Totally useless information
Before David Chase closed out the Sopranos with Journey's Don't Stop Believing, Bill Lawrence closed out an episode of Scrubs with the very same song.
Hard not to sing along huh.
Hard not to sing along huh.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Emmy's. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
Apparently I live under a rock and had no idea that the Emmy's are on tonight.
Huh.
What the hell is up with the Emmys anyway? It's the inbred love child of the Golden Globes and the Oscars.
Clearly the producers are trying waaaay too hard. The jokes are strained, the interactions between actors stilted and quite possibly the opening sequence of Oprah introducing the past five winners in the Best Reality TV Show Host category followed by Tom Bergeron and William Shatner tearing off Heidi Klum's clothes was the most AWKWARD opening sequence in awards ceremony history.
Especially when that could have been a MUCH hotter moment in TV history. But c'mon. A threesome with Bergeron and Shatner?
**shudder**
Huh.
What the hell is up with the Emmys anyway? It's the inbred love child of the Golden Globes and the Oscars.
Clearly the producers are trying waaaay too hard. The jokes are strained, the interactions between actors stilted and quite possibly the opening sequence of Oprah introducing the past five winners in the Best Reality TV Show Host category followed by Tom Bergeron and William Shatner tearing off Heidi Klum's clothes was the most AWKWARD opening sequence in awards ceremony history.
Especially when that could have been a MUCH hotter moment in TV history. But c'mon. A threesome with Bergeron and Shatner?
**shudder**
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Mercury is DEFINITELY in retrograde.
La Maman shares office space with an astrologer and he one time mentioned that sh*t really starts hitting the fan when mercury goes into retrograde.
I, like thousands of other Bostonians, are only familiar with mercury being in retrograde because it was something the Cosmic Muffin used to always talk about.
But let me tell you, it is true. Things do seem to hit the fan with a little more frequency when mercury goes into retrograde.
This week was sh*t all around I think. Except for Sonia Chang-Diaz maybe. Which meant though that it was a sh*t week for Dianne Wilkerson.
Anyway.
It didn't get better today. First I scalded myself with burning hot soup from my knees to my ankles and then when I turned on the tv, I saw that Verrill Farm farm stand has burned to the ground.
Mercury comes out of retrograde around mid-October. Call me then because quite frankly I think I might just take to my bed for the next month.
I, like thousands of other Bostonians, are only familiar with mercury being in retrograde because it was something the Cosmic Muffin used to always talk about.
But let me tell you, it is true. Things do seem to hit the fan with a little more frequency when mercury goes into retrograde.
This week was sh*t all around I think. Except for Sonia Chang-Diaz maybe. Which meant though that it was a sh*t week for Dianne Wilkerson.
Anyway.
It didn't get better today. First I scalded myself with burning hot soup from my knees to my ankles and then when I turned on the tv, I saw that Verrill Farm farm stand has burned to the ground.
Mercury comes out of retrograde around mid-October. Call me then because quite frankly I think I might just take to my bed for the next month.
Speaking of emotionally unavailable men...
I had a dream about Don Draper last night.
In it he sat next to me at a table at the end of a dinner party and put his arm out for me to lay my head on because I was tired and his arm smelled really good. And that was it.
Hmmm... So a hot yet emotionally unavailable man makes it in to my dreams and all I do is notice that his arm smells good? I think that means that I am learning something here. All I need to do now is apply that lesson in real life and I am set.
Oh but interesting side note, I share the same birthday date with Jon Hamm, the actor who plays Don Draper.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Sure, go ahead. Pay my bills.
Ahhhh new students. Some people wait for the first U-Haul to deliver the BU Bridge, others wait for the first BBQ inferno, however I wait to see what kind of student I am going to get, because it's never the same two years in a row. Especially since the crackheads moved out.
Some years I get the totally noisy ones (loud music, loud sex, loud parties). Other years I get the civilized student (invites to BBQs, no noise, shovel my walk). Last year it was a cross between really fricking loud and somewhat civilized - they'd have these late night booyah hoedowns and then apologize profusely later.
(Oh, and after they moved out I found out that they were also complete pigs, costing the landlady over $5k in damages. They REALLY wrecked the place. Nice to know I am not the only slob on the block)
This year it turns out I'm getting the clueless ones. It's like this year is their first year living outside the bubble.
One guy's family sends him a steady stream of care packages. To my house. For the record it's just me and The Dentist-in-Training who live here at this address. And the DIT is off at some rotation in East Kickybumbum, so really she's not even living here.
I rang the bell at all the places where I thought the guy might live, where I've noticed recent arrivals, but to no avail. So I schlepped all the package slips and padded mailers back to the post office. I was really hoping to find him though. Plus one package smelled strongly like chocolate and I would have opened it, if opening someone else's mail wasn't a Federal offense.
At this point the family must have gotten the returned mail. But the packages keep coming. The one today has his name in extra dark bold, as if that might make a difference.
There is a newbie down the street who truly thought trash day was every day. She didn't believe me when I told her it was twice a week. She was surprised to realize that she'd have to keep her trash in her house until trash day.
Then another new neighbor has gone and switched all my utilities into his name. I might try switching my credit card over into his name as well. I mean, he's a new student. His parents are TOTALLY expecting to pay expenses through the nose. They'll never even notice.
But it has been sort of a pain. I just spent 20 minutes on the phone with the gas company. And the electric bill has been switched out of my name twice now. You'd think it would be harder to do. I called the water company, and they've "made a note" on my account, but we shall see.
Ahhhh. I have to say, the colleges and universities have their work cut out for them with this year's crop.
Some years I get the totally noisy ones (loud music, loud sex, loud parties). Other years I get the civilized student (invites to BBQs, no noise, shovel my walk). Last year it was a cross between really fricking loud and somewhat civilized - they'd have these late night booyah hoedowns and then apologize profusely later.
(Oh, and after they moved out I found out that they were also complete pigs, costing the landlady over $5k in damages. They REALLY wrecked the place. Nice to know I am not the only slob on the block)
This year it turns out I'm getting the clueless ones. It's like this year is their first year living outside the bubble.
One guy's family sends him a steady stream of care packages. To my house. For the record it's just me and The Dentist-in-Training who live here at this address. And the DIT is off at some rotation in East Kickybumbum, so really she's not even living here.
I rang the bell at all the places where I thought the guy might live, where I've noticed recent arrivals, but to no avail. So I schlepped all the package slips and padded mailers back to the post office. I was really hoping to find him though. Plus one package smelled strongly like chocolate and I would have opened it, if opening someone else's mail wasn't a Federal offense.
At this point the family must have gotten the returned mail. But the packages keep coming. The one today has his name in extra dark bold, as if that might make a difference.
There is a newbie down the street who truly thought trash day was every day. She didn't believe me when I told her it was twice a week. She was surprised to realize that she'd have to keep her trash in her house until trash day.
Then another new neighbor has gone and switched all my utilities into his name. I might try switching my credit card over into his name as well. I mean, he's a new student. His parents are TOTALLY expecting to pay expenses through the nose. They'll never even notice.
But it has been sort of a pain. I just spent 20 minutes on the phone with the gas company. And the electric bill has been switched out of my name twice now. You'd think it would be harder to do. I called the water company, and they've "made a note" on my account, but we shall see.
Ahhhh. I have to say, the colleges and universities have their work cut out for them with this year's crop.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Hooray for voting
Yes, I went and I voted today.
I just went to make sure that Sonia Chang-Diaz got a vote.
Besides, I am a big fan of voting every chance I get. It may not always count, but the one time it does and you haven't, that is a terrible regret to live with.
I just went to make sure that Sonia Chang-Diaz got a vote.
Besides, I am a big fan of voting every chance I get. It may not always count, but the one time it does and you haven't, that is a terrible regret to live with.
It's called a penny-farthing. Now you know.
This past weekend I was down in Martha's Vineyard for a couple of days and it happened to coincide with the 2nd Annual Wheelman's Weekend.
Let me tell you, the joy at seeing a penny-farthing roll by is visceral, you literally start grinning like a fool and have to bite down on the urge to run after it. I was standing on the porch of the house we were staying in early one morning when I saw one cycle by and it made me instantly happy.
Then on Saturday, as we were strolling through the Tivoli Street Fair, we heard the ringing of bells. The crowd parted and a group of penny-farthings slowly came cycling down the road.
It was an extraordinary sight.
And I was sort of sad to see them go.
Let me tell you, the joy at seeing a penny-farthing roll by is visceral, you literally start grinning like a fool and have to bite down on the urge to run after it. I was standing on the porch of the house we were staying in early one morning when I saw one cycle by and it made me instantly happy.
Then on Saturday, as we were strolling through the Tivoli Street Fair, we heard the ringing of bells. The crowd parted and a group of penny-farthings slowly came cycling down the road.
It was an extraordinary sight.
And I was sort of sad to see them go.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
See you tomorrow. Maybe.
Remember back in March when I posted about the giant particle blaster?
The one that might generate a massive earth swallowing black hole?
Well it's going to be fired up in a couple of hours. Whoo hoo!
The one that might generate a massive earth swallowing black hole?
Well it's going to be fired up in a couple of hours. Whoo hoo!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
When is a bicyclist not a bicyclist?
When they are pretending to be a pedestrian.
Let me just state for the record that I think that the City of Boston gets a big thumbs DOWN when it comes to being bicycle friendly in anyway shape or form.
While I had zero qualms about tricycling my way around Provincetown, I am scared of the mean streets of Boston because there really aren't many concessions to biking, meaning cyclists have to literally share the road with cars, not just share side-by-side lanes.
However today I noticed a peculiar trend in bicycling which is to bicycle like a pedestrian.
Twice today I had to slam on the brakes for bikes flying through a crosswalk (not at a set of lights) which is particularly scary because the cyclist seemed to come out of nowhere. Usually I can at least see a pedestrian waiting at a crosswalk. And believe me, I might shake my fist, but I do NOT ever EVER want to EVER hit anyone with my car ever.
I then got shouted at for opening my car door, facing the sidewalk mind you, to yield to a cyclist barreling down the sidewalk. Without a helmet.
That's the other thing, no helmets. That scares the crap out of me. Too many police and EMTs have told me horror stories about brains and blood and bits of bone blatted all over the street. Blech. Totally worth the helmet hair if you ask me. Please wear a helmet. Please.
I wonder what it would take to make Boston a truly bike-friendly city. Because I really want to get a tricycle of my own.
Let me just state for the record that I think that the City of Boston gets a big thumbs DOWN when it comes to being bicycle friendly in anyway shape or form.
While I had zero qualms about tricycling my way around Provincetown, I am scared of the mean streets of Boston because there really aren't many concessions to biking, meaning cyclists have to literally share the road with cars, not just share side-by-side lanes.
However today I noticed a peculiar trend in bicycling which is to bicycle like a pedestrian.
Twice today I had to slam on the brakes for bikes flying through a crosswalk (not at a set of lights) which is particularly scary because the cyclist seemed to come out of nowhere. Usually I can at least see a pedestrian waiting at a crosswalk. And believe me, I might shake my fist, but I do NOT ever EVER want to EVER hit anyone with my car ever.
I then got shouted at for opening my car door, facing the sidewalk mind you, to yield to a cyclist barreling down the sidewalk. Without a helmet.
That's the other thing, no helmets. That scares the crap out of me. Too many police and EMTs have told me horror stories about brains and blood and bits of bone blatted all over the street. Blech. Totally worth the helmet hair if you ask me. Please wear a helmet. Please.
I wonder what it would take to make Boston a truly bike-friendly city. Because I really want to get a tricycle of my own.
Yes, I paid for these. With real money. Not Monopoly money.
I bought these for $10 because my friend I was shopping with SWORE that they give the feet a nice little massage when you wear them.No they DO NOT.
In fact the only time they feel good is when I take them off. Sometimes I think I should just throw them away, but I can't. I paid good money for them, and also it turns out they are good shoes to clean in.
The pain makes me work faster.
The only good thing about them is that I am completely fascinated by the way they make the soles of my feet look like bubble wrap.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
End of summer block
Riiiiiiiight aaaaaaaaabout................................... NOW my brain starts to spark back to life after the summery-haze of sand and surf and cotton candy and fried clams.
The last few weeks I have been completely uninspired to write anything, choosing instead to either nap in the afternoons, or flop out at the beach for the day.
Last weekend I found myself in P-Town for two days with my dearest darling Dr. Hotstuff. Seriously, my friend Dr. H gets cruised oh about every seven seconds. It's extraordinary, and yes, he IS that good looking. At least I and every other red blooded gay man thinks so.
While the trip started with a mad dash across town and a blizzard of prayers to the Travel God that I would NOT miss the 9am ferry, everything after that was lovely.
I rented a tricycle, because I could. Despite the fact that it is unbelievably heavy, totally unwieldy, has a violent pull to the left, and made me pant like an emphysematous dog on a hot day - it was tremendously fun to la-la-la cycle about on it.
Behold the tricycle!
Carnival beads, natch!
I will eat anywhere that offers a Foot Long Dog. Sad, but true.
The Lobster Pot is an institution.
Overrated maybe, but I think secretly everyone wants to "sit on toppa th'Pot".
Road to the beach.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...............................
I LOVE SUMMER!!!!!!!
The last few weeks I have been completely uninspired to write anything, choosing instead to either nap in the afternoons, or flop out at the beach for the day.
Last weekend I found myself in P-Town for two days with my dearest darling Dr. Hotstuff. Seriously, my friend Dr. H gets cruised oh about every seven seconds. It's extraordinary, and yes, he IS that good looking. At least I and every other red blooded gay man thinks so.
While the trip started with a mad dash across town and a blizzard of prayers to the Travel God that I would NOT miss the 9am ferry, everything after that was lovely.
I rented a tricycle, because I could. Despite the fact that it is unbelievably heavy, totally unwieldy, has a violent pull to the left, and made me pant like an emphysematous dog on a hot day - it was tremendously fun to la-la-la cycle about on it.
Behold the tricycle!
Carnival beads, natch!
I will eat anywhere that offers a Foot Long Dog. Sad, but true.
The Lobster Pot is an institution.Overrated maybe, but I think secretly everyone wants to "sit on toppa th'Pot".
Road to the beach.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...............................
I LOVE SUMMER!!!!!!!
I would totally vote for Tracy Jordan. If Jack McFarland was his running mate.
When they say that Sarah Palin is made for tv, they are not kidding. She looks like the love child of Liz Lemon and Karen Walker.
Defamer has a specific list comparing Liz and Sarah's positions on "the issues", but when it comes down to it I would say that she gets her looks more from her mom Liz (glasses, smaller boobies...) and her sense of fun from her other mother Karen (guns, bigger boobies...).
Oh and in case you are not au courant, this is Tracy Jordan and this is Jack McFarland.
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