December 23rd thru 26th I visited family in upstate NY for the Xmas holiday. Felt good to get away from NYC for a few days to a quieter area. Relaxed, purchased beads, hair appt, shopping w/Mom, reading, cable TV, cooking, Xmas Eve with brother & his wife and then Xmas dinner with my father’s siblings. That latter part was painful to my sensibilities. It also affected Mom and I think Dad must have been in the dark the whole time. Anyhow, it totally firmed my resolve in never associating with Dad's rude, nasty, conservative and inconsiderate siblings ever again. Hypocrites! Weekend was strolling along just fine until that dinner. BARF! Aside from that exceedingly unpleasant 2-hour incident; I received several delightful gifts from Mom, Dad, Bro, Sister-in-Law and friends. Upon arriving back into Manhattan I was delighted to see the subways still running. Amen!
December 29th thru January 2nd my Kucitizen friend Cielito stayed at my place in Brooklyn. Those who read my Blog on a regular basis will remember me mentioning Cielito staying at my place back in October. I was happy to help her out again, as that is what friends do for one another. From there she went on to stay at a friends place on Central Park West. And, as I type this, I believe she's back in other digs in Brooklyn. [Dear goddess ... I hope all is going okay during your nomad existence?]
On Saturday, December 31st, I went to a small dinner & New Years Eve party at Linda's [another Kucitizen] home in Brooklyn. The evening was spent in companionship, stimulating conversation, good food, spiked eggnog [total yummers] and watching the New Year festivities on TV. Cielito was also at the party and we drove back to my place [her car] at 2am.
On Wednesday, January 4th, I went to a "Democracy for NYC" meetup at the Royal Oak bar in Williamsburg and my first one since October. [Sadly, I also missed several LOTRs meetups.] The end of 2005 was a busy time for this gal. There were five of us [ie: two men & three women] at this meetup and the host was Ben. Topics of fascinating discussion during the 2-hour meeting were on monthly mixer, advocacy groups, City Council resolutions, verified voting and candidates running in the 2006 election. There was mention of a great website called Daily Gotham at http://www.dailygotham.com ... to learn more about DFA or DFNYC go to ... www.DemocracyforNYC.org or www.DemocracyrforAmerica.com
Friday, January 6th, I joined my friend Cielito in going to see the wonderful RUSSIA exhibit at the Guggenheim. [She had free tix!] Also joining us were her friends Maurizio and Kevin. [Nasty wind and so cold out that evening, compared to rest of an almost balmy month.] Since it was the last weekend of the exhibit and the Guggenheim is open late on Fridays, the line of New Yorkers waiting to get in was very long. It was sooo worth the wait ... 500 to 600 years of icons, paintings, sculpture and ending with modern art. The main exhibit was in the circular, multi floor part of the museum. Incredible view to behold. Afterwards Kevin took off with his Mom; which left Cielito, Maurizio and I to find a pizza place to nosh on a slice or two. We were so hungry by then, plus we talked about numerous things and I got home around 10pm.
On Saturday, January 7th, I headed up to Yonkers to do volunteer work at Joanne's ferret shelter. It was great seeing her and the wee furballs again. I missed them so much! On a sad note ... dear little Oliver passed away between my October visit and present. Apparently he had a heart condition that wasn't detected until too late. Sob & sigh! [Oliver came to the shelter in February 2002 as a 6 month old furkid. I also started volunteer work at the shelter at the same time.] Also since my October visit several furkids had been adopted into good homes. Hurray! The visit turned out very well and I got almost all my duties/chores accomplished.
One little incident ... as I pulled away a wee ferret from a tussle he was having with another he pooped on my sweater due to being scared from the tussle. Good thing I had a turtleneck top under the sweater. Had to take the sweater off, clean it as best I could and then back in Brooklyn take it to the cleaners. Oh well, these things happen when around babies and little pets. [photo at left - isn't Baxter adorable - smiling]
Tuesday, January 10th, was the monthly NYC Dept of Peace conference call at 9pm. Wish I could relate to what was discussed on the call. Since I was still very ill at that time, I unfortunately don't remember much AND didn't take notes.
Overall the month of January was NOT a good one for this gal and it started the evening of January 8th. Had doctor appointments regarding a nasty illness [ie: stomach virus, fever, bronchitis, asthma, diarrhea & acid reflux -- yep, all that at the same time] on January 11th, 18th and 25th. Mon dieu ... I haven't been this ill since the late 1990s. From January 9th thru 27th I was out of work ill on five separate dates. Through it all I lost and put back on 10 pounds. Seemed like a permanent fixture at the local pharmacy. Looked like crap and felt like I had the stuffing knocked out of me. [Also, don't want to see chicken broth or chicken noodle soup for a long time. When that’s all you can eat, after awhile you get so damn sick of it. Grant you, it helped me pull through, but enough is enough.] As I type this I'm finally done with all the meds and only have a slight cough. Amen!
QUOTE OF THE DAY ... Peace is not only better than war, but infinitely more arduous. George Bernard Shaw
FRESH LIBERAL NEWS TO WRAP UP THE WEEKEND
HAUNTED BY KATRINA
Dani McClain, WireTap
An uprooted family from the Gulf region tries to make sense of New York andcope with the emotional and psychological effects of forced migration.
http://www.alternet.org/wiretap/31701/
THE CARTOONISH STATE OF THE MEDIA
Rory O'Connor, AlterNet
Banning cartoons in France? Rumsfeld propagandizing our own citizens? Worldmedia gone mad.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/31781/
MUCH MORE THAN KING'S WIFE
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, Pacific News Service
The late Coretta King shared her husband's passion for justice, and workedtirelessly to improve America for all races.
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/31668/
BELAFONTE ON BUSH, WAR AND WIRETAPS
Democracy Now!
Renowned musician and activist Harry Belafonte speaks up about why Bush andCo. are the world's worst terrorists -- and what we can do about it.
http://www.alternet.org/story/31575/
RESURRECTING 'MARJOE'
Sarah Kernochan, The American Prospect
A filmmaker discusses the new life of 'Marjoe,' her Oscar-winning 1972 documentary about a fraudulent evangelical preacher in the Bible Belt.
http://www.alternet.org/movies/31630/
HURRICANE KATRINA'S EMOTIONAL HANGOVER
Maria Luisa Tucker, AlterNet
Passionate opposition to New Orleans' proposed rebuilding plan has hundreds of survivors trekking to D.C. to voice their objections.
http://www.alternet.org/katrina/31637/
BUSH'S TROUBLING SOTU GUEST
Jeremy Scahill, AlterNet
Cindy Sheehan wasn't welcome -- but a Saudi accused of supporting al Qaida was. Why?
http://www.alternet.org/story/31787/
RAKING IN PROFITS AT THE WORLD'S EXPENSE
Matthew Wheeland, AlterNet
The record-breaking profits recently announced by ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco come hand-in-glove with exceptionally -- and artifically -- high energy prices.
http://www.alternet.org/story/31789/
YEAR OF THE QUEER: HOLLYWOOD AND HOMOSEXUALITY
Larry Gross, Truthdig
How far we think we've come with movies like 'Brokeback Mountain' may well signify how far we have to go.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/31683/
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