Whew!

Thanksgiving hasn't been cancelled, just
postponed till tmw. See my Aunt Miriam
fell again and SHATTERED her hip bone!
Poor Baba, very worried about her sister
and there was NO way she could enjoy
Thanksgiving till we knew her sister had
survived the surgery, which we just found
out now she did. Thank God, the universe or
whoever/whatever you pray to for her surviving!
Indeed we have much to be thankful for!
Now the next few weeks will still be precarious
because there's a high risk of infection with
the elderly and especially with surgery as
intensive as a hip replacement.
But tmw we eat!

Let it snow!

Rumor has it it will snow on Thanksgiving!
Oh how I hope it does. Sure I realize for
those who have to drive in it, not fun! But
us pedestrians, its a winter wonderland.

Im riding the train to PA to start my
Thanksgiving break and it could not have
come sooner! I am ready for the semester
to be over. Its not that I don't enjoy teaching,
I do but working 3 jobs at 4 locations can
wear out a girl like me.

Had a blast last Saturday at Deaf bingo
with Szymanski. She won $25! Lucky b-itch!
Everyone there thought I was hearing and
an ASL student, hmph! Just because a deafie
chooses to dress nice doesn't make them
hearing. Although even when I dress down I
still get that despite using ASL and making
an effort not to mouth as I sign, I still get
the "you hearing?" greetings. Ah, I just have
to accept my fate, ill never be "deaf enough"
to deafies and "hearing enough" to hearies..

Things that make you go hmm...

Steve Tyler's response to the past few days
of media fueled rumors was
"Joe Perry, you are a man of many
colors. But I, muthaf*cker, am the rainbow!"
I love Aerosmith. Basically the rumor was
that Steven Tyler quit the band. Yeah right.
What makes me even prouder still is Tyler
did it here in NYC. See, we're still the best city on earth!

Had a wonderful time

At the MICA fundraiser! Won a cool LED
flashlight that doesn't require batteries,
just you have to wind it for a minute. Jack
will like it, a new toy! Plus several red bulls
to take home and a free movie "Sideways"
which I have never seen before.
Jade I got to admit inspires me to be more
active in the rights and wrongs of the
world. I am so looking forward to working
with her and the others too sometime this
Jan/Feb. Saw Nutter too (and Baba, he
says hello!) and Alexa is as beautiful
as ever. Found out she moved pretty
close to where I live so perhaps we
will meet up for a game of skipbo
or two? Dani was her cool ass self
and so was Steve. I saw pretty much
everyone who I consider to be on Jade's
team which makes me feel good and
right at home!

Go Yankees, er Phillies, er...

Damn!

What's a PA girl living in NYC to do? Who do I
root for?!

In other news, life is sort of blah but that's
because my sinuses are acting up due to the
dry heated air, argh!

And for some reason one of the dryers at the
nearby laundry mat is eating/destroying Jack's
and my clothes! His 1 cool tee with Homer
Simpson has rips all along the shoulder
collar area and my blouse today, a large rip
that I am glad I caught before leaving the apt!
Lucky for me that blouse was only a few bucks
from a local thrift store! So beware of the
"angry dryer!" trolling in Harlem....

Is Bon Jovi's home state (NJ)

on my horizon? Lately its been a lot of
stress between Jack and I and where we live.
You see for those of you who don't live in
NYC (and by that I mean the concrete jungle
of Manhattan- not the outer boroughs like
Queens) your renting options are limited
to shoe-box apt sizes! Yes tis is true, to
live in the greatest city on earth you have
to literally poop hundred dollar bills in
order to rent a place that has SPACE! Ideally,
if you don't have money to burn, your options
are pretty much limited to crime-laced areas.
And before the economy collapsed these
ares were manageable but now they are not
:(
Jack is EXTREMELY unhappy with where we
live! And while it doesn't bother me like it
does him, it takes a toll on US. Because he's
so unhappy, it spills over to me and makes
me unhappy. His sense of security and
ability to relax is shot. His car has been
repeatedly damaged by thugs and if you don't
know Jack, then you aren't aware that his car
IS the other woman in his life. Some man have
sports, others have their guitars but him, its
his car that is his pride and joy! Plus he gets
crowded very easily and our apt does not
provide us with much storage space or room
to stretch out. So for the past few months we've
been fighting a lot and its not US, its the living
arrangement that's making Jack batty and then
he devils me and ka-boom, a fight has occurred.
Mind you we have fights about other things too
but I am really starting to see how bad its
affecting him especially yesterday because we
were in PA and most of the visit went well
until yesterday. Why? Because in the back of
his mind he was dreading returning to NYC, to
our little cramped apt, to the thugs who call
each other n*ggers, to the stress of having to
check on his car every hour, to the yelling &
screaming that happens all night and so on and on...
Jack as a born and raised NYer is fed up with
the city and the outrageous prices that he is
considering our neighbor state, NJ! Boy, was I
surprised because for years now he stated he
rather shoot himself in the foot than to live in
NJ. Me on the other hand was always open to
NJ, basically because that's where a lot of
good music comes from ;} such as one of my
favorites Bon Jovi! Plus working at a college
in NJ has made me appreciate this state even
more. And they have a ton of trains that go
to and from NYC and to Philly! Now Jack has
given NJ some real consideration and the
rental prices are a lot better than the city
we may just move there. We have to save up
for a few months so hopefully by the end of
Feb we can do it, move and put down the
deposit etc etc...nothing is written in stone
at press time.
Would I miss living in the city? You bet! But
what's even better is Jack would finally have
some much deserve peace and perhaps go
back to his relax, laid back self that he was
when he came back from NC. I couldn't
believe how easy-going he was last July but
it all disappeared quickly in the past few
months much to my disappointment. So
would I give up the city for Jack? Yes, if it
meant he would be happier, thereby we
could be happier and I won't complain
about having more than 1 closet and SPACE
to do projects like puzzles etc etc. We may
even be able to get a 2 bedroom apt too for
guests and to create a little office for me
to do my lesson plans and edit my movies.
Besides living in Nj wouldn't mean I never be
in NYC, that's just not possible, I still teach
and work in the city so my city "fix" would
be met. Plus many of my friends are here
and I would still attend weekly Deaf events!
Basically the trade off of not living in the city
would be good all around. But most
importantly, I would get the easy-going,
laid back Jack back and that would be a
wonderful gift to receive because I have
seen this side of him and I miss it tremendously.

In other news I am PROUD to report I lost
10lbs! Yep, I did it all through
weight-watchers point system. It WORKS!
Sure its just a simple way to count calories
but I don't care, WW is a haven for those of
us who LOVE food. And the bottom line is,
not giving up the food you love but eating
in moderation. This past week & weekend
though, it was hard to do just that. Between
the 4 small Halloween parties I had with
my classes and the Greek Bazar, I am sure
I put on a lb or two but its nothing I can't
lose in the next few weeks. Even this
morning when I put on my pants, they are
as loose as ever! These are the same pants
I brought 5 weeks ago from JCPenny, size
10s. My size 8 fits me like a charm I realized
last week or so. Its good to still be in control
of my body weight.

Seeing the family this past weekend and
Paula too really lifted my spirits after
losing my hearing aid last week. I am still
a little upset about it, but there is NOTHING
I can do. The good news is my new hearing
aid has 4 years worth of insurance on it, so
this sucker is covered! In the meanwhile I
was provided with a loaner hearing aid that
doesn't work as well and I have no earmold,
so I use these small cylinder ear plugs that
are NOT comfortable to wear but it does
the job. The audiologist couldn't do an
earmold impression because apparently
I have too much earwax (but I think it has
to do with my psoriasis, I have a touch of it
on my scalp, ears and forehead) it runs in
my family and I suspect its not waxs but
dead skin buildup. Meanwhile I must see
the doctor to get it treated before I can
get a new earmold...life sure is FUN!

This weekend tho will be FUN because of
MICA Fashion Runway fundraiser on
Thursday night after work. Friday is NYC
DPHH. And Saturday is Szymanski's bday
get-together! All good things to look forward to!