As you can see, I've done a terrible job of updating my LJ stuff. Sheesh. I'll hang onto it for now, though. It's a free account and well, whatever.

I wanna go on a serious clothes-shopping bender right now. Though at the moment I'm without employment. My official last day of work was yesterday (yes, my job entailed weekends), and since I'm moving to Texas in a few weeks, I'd also like to do things normal people do, like play with the cat, eat and sleep.

Currently watching this:

Tags: possessed to skate, ramblings, suicidal tendencies, updates

In no particular order:

People who type in emails, blog postings, forums, etc. words like "kewl" and "l8er". They're fucking losers who deserve to have a huge Oxford dictionary propelled towards their sorry-ass heads.

People who bitch and moan about why their "needs aren't being met" and wonder why they feel "unfulfilled" by their mates.  Well,  did you ever stop and think  that you're doing a MISERABLE job of communicating your "feelings" to your spouse/partner? Like yes, we're all mind readers here and we can divinate your goddamn sentiments every moment of the day!  Stop thinking about yourselves all the fucking time.

Spam. Both the tinned meat and the crap that clogs my inbox.

Liars.

Ignorant folk.

Sarcasm. Yes, I'm guilty of using this, too. But sometimes, don't be such a douchebag in dealing with people. It gets on my last nerve.

Bad food. Bad coffee.

The Daily Kos. Sometimes I wish I could launch a flamethrower at liberal bloggers.

Tags: despised things, stuff i hate, things i hate

One of my college buddies came down to my house for the weekend, and it was great. And too short-lived. Are weekends ever long enough to have fun?  

We went to the Alice Paul Institute in Mt. Laurel, NJ, home to one of the foremost American suffragists. Alice Paul was a pretty cool Quaker activist - she shook up the suffragist movement in the US by employing the more radical protest techniques that their British counterparts were using, you know, picketing, hunger strikes, and breaking through police barriers. She was also the one who spearheaded women's right-to-vote initiatives on the federal level. Most women at the time were trying to do state-by-state reforms, but she wanted a Constitutional amendment added instead. Talk about ambition!  Ms. Paul was portrayed by Hilary Swank in an HBO movie, "Iron Jawed Angels", a few years back, and one of the guides mentioned that's why a few people show up to see the institute.  I should've brought my camera to document this little visit, but no such luck. A photographer from the Courier Post took my picture by one of the exhibits, but I didn't check to see if it ran in the paper. 

Back to my friend Cathleen's visit, it was very cool. Eric and I took her to Sebastian's Schnitzelhaus for dinner, where we probably consumed at least half our weights in bratwurst and potatoes (and cake, don't forget about that!). Sunday was even shorter. We all went out to breakfast at a local diner, then schlepped over to Whitesbog. That's where I work, and we were lucky enough to catch one of the volunteer guides who took us on a tour of the village. Whitesbog is home to the cultivated blueberry, and again, another cool Quaker woman (this time, Elizabeth White), was the force behind this agricultural operation that existed until the 1950s. 

What's with these Quakers? They've produced so many revolutionary folk, it's not even funny.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty

Orange is your tone and your meows most unusual

You skitter across the floor

For a meal and a snuggle then

Pounce away again - don’t wanna get too close

To the humans who love you from a distance

Who enjoy your marmalade color and

Distinct purrs.

Tags: poem kitten cat tabby

Here's the new addition to my household - a 2 month old orange domestic shorthair kitten that my husband and I got from the Burlington County Animal Shelter. 


 
We saw him last Saturday, and didn't expect to hear from the shelter until Tuesday or Wednesday. So it was a more than pleasant surprise to get the call on the following Monday that yes, we can have him, and can we come and pick him up? Well, hell yeah!!! 

The kitten has yet to be named. My hubby and I don't really have a feel for his name yet. The woman who taking care of him at the shelter called him Ramon. At first, I thought the name didn't fit, but the more I play with him, the more I'm starting to think the name is apt. 

He's very playful and energetic - then again, most young felines are. I'll admit I get a bit irritated when he wakes me up at 3 am nibbling on my ears. But look at that sweet face! 

Tags: kitten cat cuddly cute furball

If you've been thinking about welcoming a cat into your home, June is the month to do it. There's a wealth of info on cat adoption, including the ASPCA's website. 9Lives has also launched the "Million Cat Rescue" campaign (the only time I'll cite a corporation in such glowing terms!) where you can look up your nearest participating shelter. 

My hubby and I went to our local one today, and if all works out, we should have 2 lovable kittens in about a week. If you have the heart and resources, please consider feline adoption.

Just a few of the books I'm attempting to read now:

1. Plainsong by Kent Haruf. Normally, I wouldn't read this sort of book - it's a slice-of-life look at various people in a small town. But my book club is convening in a few weeks to discuss this, and what the hell, maybe I'll enjoy it. 

2. Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton. I'm actually not enjoying this as much as I thought  I would... I'm just not as interested in the Anita Blake character as I was before, but especially in this novel. 

3. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. This is actually my second time reading it. If you haven't picked it up yet, GET TO A BOOKSTORE ASAP. The Historian is that good. A very thrilling read, and don't get intimidated by its volume. The action builds up slowly in the book, but midway, all hell breaks loose, and that's a great thing. You won't regret it. 

I'm also waiting on my copy of Patrick McGrath's Asylum. It's a case of "I saw the movie first, let's see the novel from whence it came!". Can't wait to get it.

This past weekend wasn't the most eventful, but really great at making my blood pressure go through the roof at times.

Friday was very ordinary, and I don't even remember what I did that day. Saturday was a completely different story, however. It did start out very plain - all I did that morning was head to my job to help out with a few restoration projects (I work at a historical preservation trust), and make sure the volunteers were OK with the stuff.  We inventoried supplies for a festival, made signs and basically did a lot of grunt work. 

I left work in the afternoon, and schlepped back to my house. My husband's former boss had a farewell party in Medford, and so I headed out in the afternoon. It's too bad that I didn't get there - I got into an accident on the way. Thank the heavens that I wasn't seriously hurt; I did get a few bruises, including the tell-tale marks of a seat-belt wearer. But my car is now an undriveable scrap of metal. I also went to the ER to make sure everything was ok with me. They bandaged my scrapes and prescribed me some pain-relievers. I joked around with the technicians and nurses, who remarked that I "seemed to be real funny" coming in. I hope they were referring to my sense of humor, and not my state of mind.

After the ER experience, my husband tried cheering me up by taking me to Borders, where I purchased a remastered copy of the Cure's "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" (one of my top 10, absolutely fave albums of all time). Then we hit the comics book shop and picked up some Chinese take-out to alleviate the high-pitched emotions that were coursing through me. This was followed by more goofing off around the local mall on Sunday, breakfast at a diner, and watching "Knocked Up". (By the way, it's a really funny movie, and I recommend that you see it. Maybe I'll talk about it in another entry.)

While I'm not as shaken up as I was a few days ago, I can't help but feel pretty shitty. I'm already a moody individual, so this doesn't exactly help my mental health. But what else can I do but continue onward? 

(Sighs heavily) Why does life have to be such a stress-inducing downer sometimes?

Current Mood: exhausted

VodPod's such a great resource - not only can I pull videos from YouTube and MySpace, I can go all over Google's and even Comedy Central's collections, then combine all the clips into a mini-pastiche. Enjoy these 80s gems. And I'm as happy as a clam because I can view "Dominion" as many times as I want, or at least as my browser allows.

Tags: 1980s videos, b-52s, bronski beat, howard jones, new wave, sisters of mercy, smalltown boy

I found this fan tribute to Captain Harlock on Patrick Macias' very cool and knowledgable blog on all things anime, manga and Japanese cinema-related. 
Space piracy never seemed so grand or poetic - and complete with Spanish dialogue, no less!
Impressive, don't ya' think?

Tags: captain harlock, leiji matsumoto, live action