Bubblegum Pudding-Farout!

Well imagine to my surprise when I saw
this package of Bubble gum pudding by
Jelly Belly. For a buck I had to buy it last
weekend while visiting my Mom. Today
I decided to brave it out and try it. Hmm,
the first spoonful was interesting. Sort of
reminded me of banana flavor for a
split second and then I tasted the
bubble gum. Wow, my mouth just didn't
know what to think. Its just so interesting
not disgusting or gross, just unusual.
I almost wish is was frosting that I could
smear on a sugar cookie.
Oh the things we try for a buck!

2 things I can live without

Allergies & Humidity. Didn't miss either one
this past winter. My allergies are back with a
vengeance! For me since I already have bad
sinuses, allergies can induce some serious
light-headiness. Not fun! Plus the constant
stream of sneezes and grabbing tissues is
not something I am looking forward to for
the next few months. Ah, "C'est la vie"
translated- such is life.
Or as some people I know, like to say
It is what it is.
Wasn't able to finish both colleges midterms
like I had originally planned. Only 1 school
is completely done. The other one I INTEND
to do on the train ride to PA this afternoon.
I read online last night that if you want to
be more disciplined, make public
statements. Why? When people make
public announcements of their intentions
more often than not we follow through to
avoid looking bad to the public. Hmm, lets
see if it works for me? In terms of paper-
work related to teaching the only other
item left is to grade videos. ASL students
videos which are SO time consuming to
grade. Id be interested in a chance to
observe other foreign language teachers
at college level to see how they conduct
their classes and assess students' work?
I wonder if I can do that at one of my
schools over the summer? Couldn't
hurt to set up a meeting with my boss
and ask.
Completed the US Census 2010 Form
last night for Jack and me. It was very
brief and easy to fill out. Make sure you
do yours TOO! Its our civic duty you know.
I really do take pride in the opportunity to
vote and participate in the US Census.
What was extremely interesting to me was
how the one section explicitly explains that
Hispanic, Latino, PR, DR, Mexicans etc etc
are not considered a RACE. Then beneath
it it listed all the other ones. Oddly there
were several Asian races listed I think?
Can't quite remember, where as for Blacks
only African American was listed. Huh? I
recall the whole debate about the Hispanic
people not being a race. Still it was strange
to see it as one of the main components of
the census itself.
By the way, as one of my favorite indulgent
snacks when traveling is Auntie Annie's
pretzels but only if they're pipping hot.
The one I am noshing on now isn't even
luke warm, what a shame :( Will save the
rest for later, my pretzel has a date with
the microwave tonight!
I am more than READY for this break
and visiting the family! Plus the
weather is gorgeous despite allergies
and humidity.
Lastly, my main goal for this visit, is a
little rejuvenation and I just don't want
to have to "think" or have major
responsibilities for the next few days :}

I Heart Hulu 4-Ever!

Seriously people, Hulu.com is ASL-"CHAMP!"
Granted some folks complain they have a
limited amount of CC viewing content but
not I! Why you might ask? Well lets see...
They're basically the ONLY website that
gives us Deafies equality to our hearing
peers when it comes to watching online
media. I too can catch up on shows like
THE SIMPSON or HOUSE with CC!
It really bothers me when some people take
Hulu.com for granted or worst complain. My
view is to be assertive, write to Hulu.com,
you can email them at feedback@hulu.com.
Now they don't always answer the emails,
you might get the standard "We received
your email, blah blah blah. Try these
helpful links/FQA blah blah blah." But
sometimes they do answer which is
really nice. I've already decided, should I
ever earn loads of money, I would invest
some in Hulu.com or the mother company.
Very rarely do I become loyal to a
brand.
Watched some movies in the last week
or so. Here's what I thought of them;
"Shrink" with Kevin Spacey, an indie
film about a therapist/counselor to
Hollywood's Stars and everyday people.
Kevin Spacey as always did a fantastic
performance. How could anyone not be
a big fan of his is unknown to me. It
was a good story with several layers
and just enough nitty gritty to keep
you interested but not make you
depressed by watching it! This
movie gets an A+
"2012" another end of the world movies.
How I love those! Using current science
theories and adding a dash of
make-believe these movies fascinate
me. Not because I secretly wish for the
end of mankind. No siree, but the sheer
awe of the infinite possible ways this
world/planet could be destroyed has me
hook, line and sinker! "2012" was non
stop action. I was literally unable to tear
my eyes away from the movie for fear I
might miss something important to the
overall story. They has this cool-ass car
scene where California's roadways were
collapsing as they drove by. Totally
unrealistic! but ah so much fun to watch :}
A very thrilling movie. Granted not a
whole lot of "substance" but rarely are
these end of the world movies about
people's personal stories. Instead these
movies are more about helping the
audience imagine being there themselves
and how they would react? I thought the
ending was cool. But like Blondie the very
last line of the movie sucked! I won't tell
you what it is, but my only guess was to
prevent that little girl/actress from being
forever know as the girl who wore pull-ups
and wet her bed till age 7.
"Crossing Over" with but not starring
Harrison Ford (one of my old favorites),
was an overlapping story about several
immigrants and immigrant-related
federal workers. Very good, I enjoyed
the one story about the Jewish guy trying
to become an American citizen and he
does so by pretending his a religious
Jew.
"Special" starring Michael Rapaport
was ok. I felt it was a little too slow,
they could've unfolded the story
a little more quickly without losing
the vibe the director was going for.
It was creative but I found myself
at times playing Spider Solitaire
while waiting for a scene that would
interest me.
Alrighty, I must shove off and give
my students their midterm. Only 1
day shy of my Spring Break -whee!

My 1st Spa Experience

So last Saturday my friend Ellie and I
hit a spa on the UES. They had a special
where you paid $100 for 2 hours worth of
services. They had a list of services you
could choose from, a total of 2, 1 per
hour. We both decided to get the Swedish
Massages. For the 2nd hour, Ellie chose
a facial and I chose foot reflexology.

We arrived for our appt right on time
and entered a small lobby area with
soft I think Chinese music playing?
Everyone was Chinese and since I
am Deaf, identifying music is not my
forte. The man immediately greeted
us and led us to the back rooms
which were all dimly lit into 1 room
that had 2 massage tables side by side.
We were instructed to strip and given
nice luxury towels to wrap ourselves in.
We both were san bras but kept our
panties on. Then we were instructed
to lie face down into the donut hole
pillow and the massages began.

Boy oh boy I was being tortured! Every
time the woman massaging me found a
spot that hurt, she dove into the same
spot over and over again! I started to
wonder if perhaps she thought I had
requested "deep tissue" massage because
Blondie explained those are horrific!
Finally after 30 mins of suffering I lifted
my head up and ask her to lighten the
pressure just a teeny bit and she did.
Once the torture factor was gone it
felt pretty nice. I admit lying face down
for an hour is too long for me and I
actually enjoy having my arms and legs
massaged more than my back which
they did for like 10 mins while the other
50 mins was all back massage.

That ended and Ellie and I wondered
what was next but they informed us to
stay and turn over onto our backs. So
we did and the women propped for the
next hour. My masseuse (sp?) started
massaging my temples and again I
wondered if perhaps she thought I wanted
a facial but soon after that she moved down
to my feet and began massaging my left
foot/calf. It felt good. I started to think
what's the difference between foot
reflexology and a regular foot massage?
I honestly couldn't tell you.

When it was all over, we both were soooo
relaxed we didn't want to move. I could've
gone to sleep happily! But sadly we had to
go.

Ironically that night about 7 hours after
the spa visit I began to sneeze uncontrollably!
I was sneezing and blowing my nose for the
rest of the night! I thought, gee my luck to get
a cold or allergies now! When I woke up on
Sunday the sneezing/blowing nose resumed
for another few hours and then all but stopped!
I read up on reflexology and found out that one
of the side effects of reflexology is it rids your
body of toxin buildups. Often people after a
reflexology appt will go to the bathroom more
or in my case mucus aglore fest! And other
common reactions follow for a few days.

I guess you could say I am a believer in
reflexology! And already want to have
another reflexology session soon! I
also have always wanted to try acupuncture
too! Some people might think I am a little
loopy but I do believe our bodies are made
up of more than just organic matter and
star dust but energies too. I have in the past
briefly studied Chakras etc etc but this
experience has renewed my interest again!

If anyone asked me what I recommend when
going to a spa I would recommend reflexology
above anything else!

Oh hell no!

Saw in the paper today that one idiot rep
from NC name Patrick McHenry (R) wants
to rid Ulysses Grant from the $50 bills and
replace it with Ronald Reagan (the worst
president of our time!). It was bad enough
when they replaced National Airport with
his name and now this? Puhleez! The man
was a terrible actor on screen but a great
actor when playing president of the US!
His failures do not overshadow Grant's
American contribution when leading the
North to victory in the Civil War! Ugh, I
grew up to seeing this disgrace lead our
country into a recession. Hasn't this man
done enough damage?! Why are there
always these republicans with idiotic
ideas and backward notions in power?
When will the American public get educated
and see the facts for what they are? Instead
of blinding themselves from the truths?
I am so sick of politics and the lack of any
social grace in the political arena.