PERSONAL NEWS #219

April 1^st and 2^nd, I had two chiropractor appts to deal with my lower back issues [ie: Sacroilitis and Sciatica].

April 4^th, I attended the monthly TGTSNBN meetup at Stone Creek lounge.  It was good fun and great seeing friends / acquaintances.

April 6^th started out with an appt at my chiropractor office, and then heading into Manhattan for my 30^th Anniversary celebration at The Parlour.  I celebrated with some friends regarding my move to NYC 30 years ago in the spring of 1983.  Some relatives said I would not last six [6] months and here I am in 2013 a proud survivor.  Afterwards, I went to a friend’s birthday dinner party at Westway Diner.

On April 7^th I had my usual private yoga class with Fabrice, and then afterwards I headed into Manhattan for a much needed acupuncture appt.

April 9^th, I attended a dual committee [ie: PF and Fundraising] meeting for BFP.  Discussion centered on prep work and organization for an “honorees” event hosted by BFP in the autumn.

April 10^th, I had dinner [PUKK on 1^st Avenue] with Kim Grover in the East Village.  She is from my hometown in Westchester County and we went to the same schools.

April 11^th, I attended a film screening of "Bowling for Columbine", which was hosted by BFP.  Afterwards, those of us who attended had a discussion on the film.  I'd never seen the film by Michael Moore and found that many issues "then" haven't quite been resolved in today's society. The NRA is still a serious issue and more gun violence has happened since Columbine. What is wrong with this country and our society?  Do any of my regular blog readers have any thoughts on this?

April 13^th, I met up with my friend Jackie at the entrance to Brooklyn Botanical Gardens on Eastern Parkway for a leisurely stroll.  I had my camera, iPad and Sasha the Sock Monkey with me for the adventure.  It’s been 11 years since I strolled through these lovely gardens and it was delightful this time, despite the weather being abit overcast.  Took lots of photos and was especially impressed with the Japanese Hill & Pond Garden.  I noticed many changes to the botanical gardens and all for the better.  Afterwards, we strolled over to Flatbush Avenue for a tasty dinner at Dao Palate.  The pumpkin soup was especially good.  After we parted ways, and as I was walking along 7^th Avenue, I decided to stop into Cocoa Bar for a slice of Vegan chocolate cake.  Yum!  They had free WiFi, so I decided to hang out for abit.  Overall it was a very nice day.

April 14^th, after I had my delicious and healthy morning smoothie, I went to my weekly private class at the yoga center in my hood.  I asked Fabrice if we could have it outside in the sunny, grassy courtyard, and he agreed.  It was abit breezy, but overall with the warmth of the sun, it was a very good class.  Next week I am going to try the Qigong class.

April 15^th, I attended a Tax Day Forum after work, which was hosted by Ft Greene Peace and also Brooklyn for Peace. The main speakers were Mike Zweig, Professor of Economics/Activist, and Mark Dunlea, Community Organizer for Hunger Action Network.  The forum was fascinating, informative and some facts were such eye-openers.  Such as; $682 billion on war spending by the US in 2012 …. 26 soup kitchens in NYC during the late 1970s and now there are 1300 …. 28 million people without jobs throughout the US …. Deficit not the issue, but the economy is the serious issue.  For those of us taxpayers who live in NYC … $4 billion was spent for Iraq / Afghanistan wars during the 2012 fiscal year.  NY State taxpayers forked over $10.3 billion for Iraq / Afghanistan wars.  Many of these facts are noted on The National Priorities Project website [ www.costofwar.com ]

April 18^th, I attended the monthly “Friends of Tolkien” meetup and main topic of discussion was season three of “Game of Thrones” on cable TV, as well as The Hobbit movie/book.  Afterwards, I headed down to Union Square, to purchase some Downton Abbey books from B&N.

April 20^th, after Dana cleaned my apartment, I headed into Manhattan to meet up with Dennis for a delightful, leisurely afternoon of strolling The Highline, and then dinner at Bus Stop Café.  Afterwards, Dennis and I drove up to the Eastside of Manhattan and he dropped me off at Central Park before heading to an appt.  My only gripe about the day was the chilly wind and the subways being messed up.

April 21^st, I participated in my first ever Qigong class at the yoga center in my hood, and afterwards I had an appt with Dr Tan in Manhattan.

April 22^nd, I participated in the monthly BFP A&C committee meeting, which was very productive.

April 23^rd, after getting therapy at my foot doctor’s office, I headed uptown to All Souls Church for Wither America:  Decline or Renewal? with Cornel R. West, Ph.D.
 
Professor Cornel West talked about issues of economic justice and injustice.  Dr West and co-author Tavis Smiley wrote a recent publication called, The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifest.  Cornel West is professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University, and a prominent and provocative democratic intellectual. He is the author of several best-selling books, including Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and has appeared frequently as a guest on the PBS program hosted by Tavis Smiley, the Bill Maher Show, the Colbert Report, CNN and C-Span. He also co-hosts with Mr. Smiley the radio program "Smiley and West" broadcast on PRI around the country, appeared in the film, The Matrix, and has made three spoken word albums, including Never Forget. Professor West earned an undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Harvard and a doctorate in Philosophy from Princeton. In addition to Union Theological Seminary and Princeton he has also taught philosophy at Harvard, Yale and the University of Paris.

April 25^th, I attended the “14 years after Columbine: Guns in America” Forum and Q & A with Leah Barrett, Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, and Kim Russell, Founding Member and Communications Director of Moms Demand Action.  Was held at The Commons and hosted by BFP.

Evening of April 26^th, I went to the Somethin’ Jazz Club on East 52^nd Street to hear Veronica Nunn and her quartet performs some grooving jazz.  It was enjoyable and I picked up some CDs.

On April 27^th, I headed into Manhattan to see Wendy for the first of several fittings for my latest HP themed ensemble.  She also showed me some of her pix from recent trip to London the HP Tour.

April 28^th, after I had my delicious and healthy morning smoothie, I went to my weekly private class at the yoga center in my hood.  Since the weather was sunny, warm with a slight breeze, we had the class outside the yoga center on mats.  It was a really good class.  Afterwards, I hopped on the subway and headed out to Queens to visit with my friend Debbie.  We caught up on news, played with her cats, went out to dinner at a nice Thai place and she loaned me one of her hats for one of my Misti-Con ensembles.

On April 29^th, after work, I stopped by the Halloween costume shop down near Union Square to see Wendy about fitting / design for my latest ensemble.