"Prefer not to"

On saturday I had my radiology appt downtown. Jack drove me and kept me company during my appt. Lucky for me he did because Veronica (I love that name) was from Europe somewhere and had an accent so thick even Jack had to ask her to repeat a few times. Nyhoo she was using the sonogram (the kind they use to look at babies- it reminded me of the time I went with Ronnie when she had her ultrasound done. Makes me miss her even more! Only a few weeks to go and pah, will see her for the camping trip.) so back to Veronica she begins the scans and presses down ever so not-gently on the areas where I am experiencing pain. I wince, groan, make faces and it doesn't faze her in the bit. Jack explained she has to press down otherwise she won't get a reading. So she presses downward in what seems like forever, clicking away on her mouse on various scans. At one point in my lower abdominal area there's a black circle and I inquire as to what it is, and she replies "a Cyst" gee louise, you mean I got problems happening in both the upper and lower part of my abdominal areas? I felt like I had been used as a punching bag by the time Veronica had finished. Funny I laughed my ass off when Jack translated at one point there would be some scan of my vaginal space. For some reason I laugh at words like vaginal especially when he translates it for me in front of Veronica the sadist. I begged him to repeat it but he was all mumms. I spent the rest of the day sleeping, the test really left me feeling like crap.

Yesterday I ran a few errands, saw Jade for a few minutes to pick up the gift certificate and then headed over to Blondies and Cain to check up on Cleo. Imagine to my surprise Szymanski's stuff is all about and when I opened the door and saw her things. I immediately closed it and locked it, walked right out as I did not want to have a confrontation with Szymanski. She contacted me on Friday all in a panic because she was missing her purse with meds in it. Now I would never deny another human being their medications and I replied I hadnt seen it but if I did I would let her know. This prompted her to ask if we could open the line of communication. Huh? wtf? Why would I do that? She hasnt made any suggestions to the fact that what she did to Jack was plain old *pardon my french* but F*cked up. Even recently someone asked Jack about the posting of him advocating rape. Hello, if you read her blog any man who doesn't do as she wants is a rapist or a potential rapist and we're not playing her games anymore. Just because she doesn't like him doesn't give her the right to spread vicious lies about him on her blog or use his full name. Whats worse is she lied to me and said she'd be back at the apt on Monday so I felt set up when I got their yesterday. A big no no.... My response to her email about opening the lines of communication was simply this... prefer not to

Today on my way to work, I felt someone was trying to get my attention and sure enough I looked over from the sidewalk to the street and saw NYC fire dept on their truck, waving to me. Heck, what girl wouldn't like the fire dept smiling at them? It put a smile on my face, here little old me with my sun glasses, a pair of jeans and a tee and hair in a ponytail, nothing special but for some reason today all the guys I passed either winked at me or smiled or even greeted me so must be doing something right. Jack always makes me feel sexy so I am deafinitely not lacking that.

Interesting experience happened in Taco Bell yesterday when I grabbed a nacho bell grande the place was packed and seating was limited. There were 2 asian girls trying to find a place to sit and saw three elderly Black ladies gabbing but spread out over 3 tables. So they politely asked the older ladies if they could sit at one part of the table and you should've seen how nasty this one old lady was. I couldn't (of course) hear what the lady said but it was something to the effect of "whadda you asking me for? why are you bothering me, do I look like the seat patrol person!" I was like wow. It made me wonder if I had walked over and asked to sit down would she have responded the same way? Since moving to NYC I have seen much racial tension between asians and other minority groups. Whenever Jack and I go out for Sushi the male asian waiters are usually very curt with us. Especially at Planet Sushi, while the food is tasty the service has a lot to be desired. So for them I prefer take outs only.

Hmm 4th of July is right around the corner. I asked Jack if we could go to LI or NJ for real fireworks? I am sorry but Manhattan may be the best city in the world but not for fireworks which in my mind are LAME, they hardly go up very high (I assume due to air restriction issues and fire hazards) and they just don't captivate me. What can I say, I am spoiled by PA and MDs fireworks. I told Jack we need to take a blanket and lay it out so we can lie down and look UP and see the dazzling display. Last year we watched from Baba's home, it was fun.

Blondie is suppose to return tomorrow, I hope I see her in the next few days. I will only be working today, tmw and possibly wed due to the fact summer session A has ended and media isn't running to its full capacity. Thats fine because I need to go to one college later this week to fill out paperwork for my upcoming job teaching ASL on Mon/Weds starting mid July.

Supreme Court

issues yet another peice of evidence of how inefficent they really are! Overturning gun laws is a MISTAKE! Just open any newspaper on any given day and I'll bet you'll find just another example of why ordinary citizens do not need personal handguns. I don't care if your Paw, Maw, Cousins in the hills and whatever other hicks you hang with and have the urge to go hunting. Get a grip, its 2008! You're no longer pioneers moving out west. There are no injuns for you to maim, or many animals for you to shoot at point blank range to make yourself feel more like a man. You do not need a gun in the house, you need a real home security. Wake up AMERICA, stop voting for morons like Bush who put idiots like the ones we have now in the Supreme Court. As usual I blame Bush, it always goes back to him and any other Republican presidents we've had for the past 60 years....

MICA Runway 2008 Recap

Last week I arrived back to the heart of NYC and immediately started helping with the preparations for MICA (Wednesday night 18th) where we were all summoned to meet up at the Flatotel Hotel for a committee meeting. While the hotel itself was gorgeous, we ran into some problems there and needless to say, I told Jade we shouldn't book with that hotel again in the future. We originally wanted the Hotel Pennsylvania but it was under renovations :( It was the one we used 2 years ago and had ZERO problems. We'll probably book with them for MICA 2010!

Nyhoo, basically me and some other volunteers went to retrieve items for the goody bags, and boy were there some good stuff! For example RUSK bags filled with shampoo, conditioner, body scrub and so on. Another great goody was the EverGlo that came with the Zico coconut water (which I didn't like), but the EverGlo was tasty! Same as the Boru Vodka, that stuff is STRONG! I got this cute black baseball cap with the Geico Gecko on it, CUTE! There was always Red Bull on hand, to keep us going. Everyday I came home with lots of good stuff and it made the volunteering all well worth it.

Thursday night was the kick-off party to raise awareness for breast cancer and the auction was held too. Jade scored some good stuff, for example a gift certificate for Applebees (worth $50) I got it for $20 smackarooooos yay! It includes two appetizers, 2 main entrees, 2 drinks and 2 desserts. Someone else bidded $100 for a $400 video phone by Ojo. I was very impressed by all of the stuff that was available to be auction. Too bad more deafies didn't come, they would've been quite pleased with the selection.

Friday I didn't make it to MICA for the film festival. I have had this ongoing pain in my abdominal area and it was just too painful for me to function and I was overly tired for no reason. I went to the doc who figured it to be an UTI and after last years fiasco with my kidneys I wasn't taking any chances. I spent the day at home, upset because I was missing the opportunity to watch other films with deaf themes and meet other filmmakers but like my Jack Rabbit says, "you're health is more important!"

Saturday there was NO WAY I was gonna miss the main event of MICA. I arrived to Club Touch located at 240 west 52nd st, very swanky, nice layout. Kudos to Jade for picking a kick ass bar for this kick ass event! I immediately was put to work securing a S-video cable so we could do a live feed but this fell through. Both Jade and I were very disappointed because we wanted this for the red carpet for while people were waiting outside and the hostess was interviewing the attendees the others inside could view it but it was not possible. We did however have a live feed of the event itself on big screen which I controlled to the best of my ability using a mere 5 ft s-video cable, not easy my friend! I was forced to crowd the MCs (Masters of Ceremony) with my camera but my range was limited.

I also had the chance to work with the following actors and actresses;
Michelle Banks, and Monique Holt, both of them I know from before and I was formally introduced to Anthony Natale (famous for his roles in Jerry McGuire and Mr. Holland's Opus)and Russell Harvard (most recently in There Will be Blood). May I add that Russell gave a phenomenal performance! This guy is a ball of pure energy and always ready with a smile! They were nice guys and easy to work with. They didn't have that "stuck up" attitude that I sometimes come across when working with deaf performers, who's names I won't mention but you know who you are!

I also got to see the 2 deaf rappers the Helix Boyz who are well known in Deaf NYC community, they rocked the house! There was also a hearing rap pair name Geno Flamez and Era and they too brought the house down. Plus there were some excellent dancers such as Mervin Primeaux and Jubil Khan who did an interpretive dance of a hearing/deaf relationships and the trials that accompany it. Beautifully done, I know them both from MSSD. Plus one of the fashion designers from 2 years ago Chila who has a great clothing line called Chila for Fun, who as soon as she saw me, throw up her arms and gave me a great bear hug. What a sweetie and she invited me to her bday bash next week! After the event ended I went back to the hotel for the VIP party and had a blast. Dranked, ate and gabbed for a few hours before I trekked back home. After all my job wasn't done, there was still teen MICA on sunday afternoon.

Sunday afternoon took place at the Producer's Club, I was not happy when I saw how crappy the stage was and immediately started to spruce it up, there were xmas lights and I strung them along and taped up these stars to the backdrop. I wanted the kids who were performing to feel good. We had a panel and after each performance, the teens were given feedback and it was a nice mellow afternoon. When that ended, I headed back to the hotel for the wrap up party and to help Jade take the remainder of the supplies back to her apartment.

Meanwhile I wasn't feeling any better, as a matter of fact I was feeling worse. I told Jack I didn't think the antibiotics were working so he made me an appt for Tues to see the doc. I went back to work at medias on Monday but was dragging myself...

Tues I saw the doc who now didn't think I have an UTI but something is wonky with my kidneys and wants me to go to radiology for 3 different scans and gave me the referrals.Wed Jack called and faxs them my referrals, but they didn't have any openings until another few weeks! he then called around and found a place downtown who scheduled me in for Sat at 11am. Jesus...

Thurs I am not in as much pain as before but it has become a dull ache. The pain is where my kidneys are so what is causing it, I haven't a clue. I am not as tired but still not as productive as I would've liked.

Plus I was suppose to audition for Kay's jewerly commericial on Tues but because of the pain I was in and Jack said I looked terrible, I didn't go. I was bummed, I didn't think I would get it but I still wanted to audition. Then a job interview with one school fell through (I had really wanted the job) and they told me the night before the interview that they hired someone else. Gee, thanks...

So yesterday and today I've been scouring over the want ads and have compiled quite a list of schools to send my resume to. But its Thursday and the rule is not to send resumes at the end of the week when employers are ready for the weekend, best to send them out on Monday and Tuesday so thats my game plan for now.

Plus I am on cat sitting duty for Blondie and Cain. Eddie took care of the cat this week and found Cleo at home with NO water, poor kitty. No wonder she was crying/mewing her little heart out. What was Cain thinking?!

This week has sorta dragged by painfully slow. Both Jack and I are ready for the weekend to come. Tmw I am suppose to be off but they asked me to do one event tmw night from 6pm-9pm and I agreed, after all, extra hours equal extra pay $$$.

Lancaster Catholic HS Fair 2008

I saw in the paper earlier today that
tonight was the opening of the fair and
I used to go every year with Paula when
we were teenagers. So I called up Nancy,
David and Bobby and invited them to go.
And so we did!
It was a LOT of fun. Before we got there.
We all meet up at their house and Nancy
showed me the guest bathroom that's
she currently renovating, aren't the
fishes cool?
The rest of the pictures are from the
fair itself. Bobby and I went on the
Graviton 2xs! (The one that looks like
an UFO ship aka Close Encounters of
the Third Kind) its the ride that sucks
you up against the wall! The 1st time
I will admit I was slighty dizzy but the
2nd time went just fine!
Some photos are of Bobby in the bumper
cars, not exactly clear I know, me
do-do?
Afterall its a SK2!
Lastly they all got me this SWEET clock
for a house-warming gift! The clock had
different sushi/sashimi pieces instead
of nbrs. And for the hands a knife
and fork. I know, why not chopsticks,
I'll never know but its a great clock. Will
snap a photo of it once Jack and I hang it
up on the wall.
This visit went by way tooo fast! I
just enjoy being with my family so
much and spending time with Baba!
Boo hoo! I don't wanna go! But ill be
home in a month for Nathan's 6th
birtday! Yay! And again in August for my bday ;D

Tom-Tom

All love!

Jack rabbit...

I am having a wonderful time in PA. Spent the weekends at my Mom and we had a lot of fun. We went shopping at Payless shoes and Goodwill among a few other places. I was able to buy some summer shoes and clothes, Pah!

I also got to spend time with my Bastard Kitty, Tom. Who at first was mad at me and basically told me to "Piss Off" like Chef Gordon Ramsey. Actually I wonder if they're related, both bitchy but lovable???

I finally got a nibble, one job opening has contacted me and asked me to come in for an interview so hopefully that will happen sometime next week after MICA ends.

Right now I am at Baba's doing some work for a friend on translating footage from ASl to English as she is a hearie who doesn't sign... *yet*

Tmw I return to NYC, and while the break went by too quickly I miss my Jack rabbit.

Sharp jagged rock

lodged behind my left eye or so it feels like it.

The past 2 days my sinuses, mostly on the left side has been steadily
getting worst. I fear
I have a small sinus infection and headache
is at times quite unbearable. I hate going to
bed with the same headache I woke up with,
only to wake up again the next day with
the same damn headache. Well I woke
up today and it was bad. I mean
BAD! Cold cloths, zyrtect,
nasal spray, spicy food, nothing is helping!
Called Baba up by relay and explained the
situation. She went into the Perlis mode and
immediately Mom and Baba made arrangements
for me to see Mom's doctor tmw afternoon.
Thank god Jacks health ins is accepted out
of state! I was gonna try to drive in tonight
but both Baba and Jack were against the idea.
Feeling the way I do, I didn't argue.

Right now am watching Dustin Hoffman
in "Little Big Man" made in 1970. About an
ancient frontiersman (White I think or an
Albino Native American, I'm not sure? I
missed the 1st hour of it.) live among the
Indians and deals with the life among the
tribes and the hostile white men. Its not
bad, its the kind of movie I find myself
looking up and down at, doing small tasks
in between until it captivates me once more.

Last night was Parents night. It went as
well as it could, with all things considered.
-the music teachers Ipod with all of the
shows songs was stolen that morning
-Russo had to miss the beginning of the
show on Tues for court due to her SK
being robbed. Then again she had to go
back in the middle of the day, all the way
down to Brooklyn yesterday after
teaching only to return to do the show.
-The art teacher didn't leave any equipment
or instruct me or Adamn on technology
related matters that forced me to stumble
in the middle of the auditorium rows with a
pole so I could poke at the LCD monitor
and turn the power on.
-Adamn students film was not returned
to him from the afternoon show by the
Art teacher.
But even with all the kinks, once the show
started it kept on rolling. And I was glad
that finally some of the other students
films were being shown with their parents
in the audience.

Wow I can't believe I won't be going
there everyday anymore. I don't think
its sunk in yet. Probably won't till I get
back from PA mid next week.

I got to see Blondie and Eddie last nite
for a little while. Eddie is letting me
return to media services on Monday the
23rd, ill be working 4 eight hour days, whee
I could use the moolaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!
Blondie summed it up well last night. A
job is the one where you don't bring your
work home with. While a career you do.
How true!

As for the DPHH pictures, I'm waiting on
Franklin when she has the time to send em
to me. I've gotten a few emails inquiring,
so not to fear. Probably by next weekend
at the latest. I don't wanna bug Franklin.
Besides *grins* I know she reads this ;D

Borrow for bother

Its ironic how the mind works when you tired.
I tried to write to a friend not to "borrow"
attending all the nights, but instead attend
the main event.
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever."
- Mahatma Gandhi

Downtime around the corner

In 2 days ill be in PA for a visit from Thurs-
Wed. I need to be back in time for MICA
Event.

The past few days has been a blur of
filming and editing. Filming the students
and MICAs rehersals. And I'm done
editing the student films (I think?
Its hard not to wanna tweak it
some everytime I view the movies.)

I had a major meltdown Sunday nite
when I discovered 1 of the students'
film had been accidently recorded over
I felt TERRiBLe. What wss I gonna tell
these kids who worked hard for the
past 3 month that the film is gONe?!
That I was forced to juggle 4 mini
dv tapes for 6 different films? That
I couldn't preserve footage due to
limited size capabilities using the schools
IMacs? None of it matters because its
not the students fault I MESSED UP.
But as Jack reminded me, I had very
small resources and other than Russo and
the kids, I had no support. I've been
volunteering my time the past 2 weeks
bc I finished my student teaching 2 weeks
ago. I couldn't leave the kids hanging with
unfinished movies and the talent show was
today. And tmw is Parents night. Anyways
I slept like crap Sun nite, woke up at 430am
remembering that I was gonna have to tell
the kids their movie was gone. And kept
waking up every half an hour till I had to
shower and go to work.

I got to work Monday morning, I looked like
shit. When I got to the school and was
waiting for the elevator the sense of dread
washed over me. I got there 15 minutes
early and hid out for a while till the class
started. Russo was very supportative and
said right away it was an honest mistake.
The kids took the news rather well. I was
surprised and even tho it was uncomfortable
for me and I did cry for just a min, most
of them were open to reshooting the missing
scenes. So I went through all 4 tapes and
transferred whatever footage I could find.
Then I made a list of the missing scenes.

Today has been a major battle with IDVD.
As much as I enjoy using IMovie, FCP and
or Avid Pro, I HATE IDvd, it never works
right, it takes forever and its a pain to use!
I look forward to returning to PC down the
road for editing purposes. I only use MACs for
my movies. Otherwise give me Windows XP!

Well Jacks at work and I'm just tuckered out.
Plan to go to bed early. My sleep sked is all
messed up, I was up late last night doing
last minute editing of needed scenes for
the movies today. And it sure doesn't help
that the temperature have been in the 90s!
Its crazy, I haven't experiences such a
hot early June in a few years. Amazing!

My 2nd Anniversary

Yep its today and ironically today is also Baba's anniversary as well, I
think? I believe she and Papa got married on the 6th but I could be
wrong, perhaps the 3rd?
I'm headed to work now, poor Russo last night she was robbed on the
train on the way to the Prom that she was chaperoning :( this is so
wrong, Russo is one of the sweetest women I know and I feel terrible for
her. I swung by dunkin donuts to bring for her and the kids in 3rd
period as they've done such a good job with the filming!
Most of the student films are done, today I'm focusing on the end
credits bc that's time consuming itself, title pages, inserts etc
etc...
Tmw I film MICA rehersal and tmw night Jack and I will celebrate our
anniversary as tonight I'm committed to DPHH as the photographer.
Life is moving along a lot nicer these past few days. And I'm glad!

MTA says

Well after a lengthy call (arent all relay calls with automated phone services so damn long!!) The MTA assures me my money will be refunded in 24-48 hrs. I asked the customer rep if there was a different nbr I could call if the money isnt refunded within 48 hours to avoid the stupid automated service and he gave me this nbr so deafies whip out your address book and add this nbr for MTA customer rep (718) 243-4999, save yourself the headache :-)

My newest sworn enemy!

Chase bank!!! I hate this bank, this bank has been nothing but TROUBLE for the past 3 months. This morning I had to buy a new metro card because yesterday while exiting the subway my reduced fare card was lost. I am so pissed at myself as I had it in my hands along with some things I was carrying so I would have it ready for the bus to go home but somewhere while walking up the steps and arriving to the bus stop I lost it. Argh!! So I had to wee wee and buy a new one at FULL price this a.m. before heading to work today.

Since I didnt have $81 on me in cash I decided to use my check card to buy a month pass. When I used the vending machine it declined my credit card so I tried a 2nd time this time using the ATM option and my pin nbr and it went thru and a new card was in my hands. Fast forward to a few minutes ago I went online to check my checking account balance and low behold there were 2 deductions for $81!!! Hello, so now I've emailed them and I am also using my sidekick to call the MTA thru relay and investigate why I was charged twice!! I hate CHASE BANK. I am closing my account later this week and going with Bank of America. Chase bank sucks ASS! and I swear to god if I lost more money because of their incompetency, I will have a major fit.