"Love Sees No Color"

or in this case, Love sees no specie, only Love. Last week Baba sent me this cute email that I just had to post. But after you see the photos, keep on reading. This is a prime example of how facts can become rumors or in this case, an urban legend. The info below was obtained from About

In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.

The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve.

After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only orphans" that could be found quickly, were a litter of weaner pigs. The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger.

Would they become cubs or pork chops? Take a look........ you won't believe your eyes!!!!





Comments: The photos are genuine, but there's more to this story than meets the eye.

To begin with, the snapshots were taken at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo in Chonburi, Thailand (near Bangkok), not some nameless zoo in California. Moreover, it would appear that the sad tale of the tigress falling into a deep depression after losing a litter of cubs was fabricated, as was the claim that the piglets were substituted for the deceased cubs by zookeepers in order to console the "mourning mother."

As it happens, this sort of intermingling of species is not at all unusual at the Sriracha Tiger Zoo, where "creating successful relationships with animals of different species" is something of a guiding principle. The facility, more accurately described as part zoo and part circus, boasts offbeat attractions like basketball-playing elephants, "lady crocodile wrestlers," and a petting zoo where customers can bottle-feed baby tigers with their own bare hands. Visitors have reported seeing tigers, pigs, and dogs all housed together within the same enclosure, with sows nursing tiger cubs and tigresses nursing piglets "adorned in tiger-print costumes."

The costumes are strictly for show, by the way. The mother tiger pictured above, who has been photographed on other occasions suckling piglets au naturel, was herself nursed by a pig in infancy and apparently regards the other species as family, not prey.

Mother Teresa was right;

“Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless” Mother Teresa was quoted saying in 1979 when she won the Nobel Peace Prize. How appropriate for today which is Yom Kippur (it began at Sunset last night). The Day of Atonement which could be measured not only in acts of regret and wrong doings but to also reflect why it is important to do acts of kindness and try to send out positive energy rather than negativity. As it is, the world is already quite negative these days.

Interestingly enough the most recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize went to 2 Americans,Andrew Fire and Craig Mello for their contributions in science. Basically as reported on CNN; "for discovering a powerful way to turn off the effect of specific genes, opening a new avenue for disease treatment." My grandmother is a genetic junkie, she reads everything she can get her hands on when it comes to gene research and Mitochondrial DNA which is basically the life force if you will. From Wikipedia "mitochondria have their own DNA and are assumed to have evolved separately."

I am sure today both Baba and Uncle David are at the Synagogue back in PA, observing Yom Kippur which is the holiest day of the year. "...In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall not do any work ... For on that day he shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins before the L-RD." -Leviticus 16:29-30 I'll admit being a reform Jew, I don't always follow the High Holidays rules and regulations. For example this holiday you are to make amends against other people you have wronged during the year prior to this day (Yom Kippur) and then you make ammends for wrong doings against G-d today. I personally use this day to reflect on the past year on my mistakes or inappropriate behavior I may have acted against others and I then make the effort to rectify my mistakes. Whether its in a form of apology or just making a note not to repeat the same mistake twice, everyone has something to owe up in one form or another. I believe in G-d in a sense of it representing life's ability to exist but not in a way where I contribute human qualities to G-d such as judgements or G-d being a paternalistic being. I think the way to disrespect G-d would be to not take care of the planet, to destroy things (organic in nature) etc etc.. Almost like Native American view's in how we treat nature shows our respect of lack of to G-d.

Also I do not fast during the high holidays. The only time I am willing to fast is in political protest or fund raising $$ for countries that have extremely low food productions or where starving is the norm. I did that once in college at Gallaudet where we had people sponsor us by donating $$ to us for this organization and we agreed to fast for 36 hours to get a sense of what it is like to go hungry. I remember there was approximately 20 of us, we had sleeping bags and stayed at the Gally Field House. It was so hard to sleep on those wooden floors (the same one used for basketball games) and I also recall being cranky and having headaches by the 15th, 20th hour. Then at the end we all got to eat together but it was a bittersweet experience for me. Knowing what real hunger feels like isnt fun. Sadly tho its not limited to our poor international neighbors. It exist in our own backyard because so many Americans face hunger everyday.

Saturday was a miserable rainy day. I went to orientation for one of my jobs that afternoon. Later on Joe Joy stopped by so we could catch up and make plans for PA trip next month. The Tin Man and I basically just hung out that day, the energy level in general was very low and most people I talked with that day, had either napped or plan to.

Yesterday the Tin Man and I went to the UWS to eat brunch and walk around. There's a small flea market off of Columbus Ave and approx 75th st. The weather was gorgeous and I picked up some fresh peaches.

We also watched Cinderella Man, based on a true story of Jim Braddock as a boxer during the depression here in NYC. I enjoyed the movie immensely. He was one of the few men to beat the famed Max Baer who critics disagree with his portrayal in the movie Cinderella Man. Some argue he was this horrible, snobbish Jew who literally killed his opponnets in the ring by beating them to death. Others say he wasn't even a Jew because his mother was Catholic and his father a non-practicing Jew and Max was raised in the Catholic faith. But by the time he became a boxer, he had announced he was a Jew and even during one fight in 1933, he wore boxer shorts with the star of David symbol on it as he fought his opponent who was of German background. I have to be somewhat skeptical and wonder if he didn't use the "Jew Card" to promote his own status during his career?

Knowing how the Americans felt about the Nazis, it wasn't a bad time to be a "Jew." I don't think we will ever know truly whether or not Max Baer was a Jew or whether he was as malicious as portrayed in Ron Howards' movie.


Today at work in between tasks, I gotta do lesson plans for tonights and wednesday's class. Plus for tmw's tutoring session. I realize I enjoy teaching quite a lot. There's such a sense of accomplishment seeing your students progress from point A to point B and then onto point C, D....

"A game please"

It dawned on me last night while subbing for an ASL class that my teaching methods are very serious and direct. For 2 1/2 hours with a 15 minute break, my goal is to cover all the vocabulary in the unit. Practice sytax/sentences in ASL. Introduce concepts such as compound signs (where the verb + noun becomes a sign) ex would be "all day," Or "don't like." Ad well as the ability to use facial expression in place of a negation sign. Like when saying "me shop" with the signer's head nodding no, means "I didn't shop." But near the end of the class, one of my student asked me if we could play a game. I admit, I was caught off gaurd as I consider ASL activities to be "games." but she wanted something FUN. Imagine that, someone wanting me to be more fun. Most people know I am always up for fun, BUT only after my work is done. This student started to be really silly during the last 15 minutes and I basically continued with the lesson and ignored her. After class ended, I told her next week (as I am covering the class 1 additional time) I will have some games for us to play next week. She seemed very happy. Lesson learned, in ordered to keep my students interested, I better come up with at least 1 or 2 games that can be played in a reasonable amount of time.

Part of the problem is I just hate the idea or the myth people have about ASL being easy and fun. Its not easy, its like any other foriegn language, with its own semantics and rules. But I forgot, it can still be fun. I just know that if I convey a certain level of expectancy and seriousness, the students follow the same manner. I cannot stand the idea of wasting time on activities that will not benefit my students other than to make them "happy" or to have "fun." Now my plan is to look for activities that can be used next week and start testing out which ones work? Which ones waste time? Etc etc..

I got approached by one student last night during class break for a request of 1 on 1 tutoring lessons. I'll contact her later today. And I got a referral from one of my other jobs for teaching ASL. When I called this referral, I learned that they are not looking for a teacher but rather a terp for a 1 on 1 meeting between a deaf client and a rep. I then asked whether or not the client requested a certified ASL terp because I am not qualified or RID certified. I would hate to show up to the meeting and have the client become upset. But the woman on the phone reassured me they just wanted someone who can sign. The woman kept telling the relay operator, "ask her... tell her..." I wanted to so badly explain the etiquette of relay calls but decided against her. Because after all I need a job (even if its freelance) more than I need to explain the rules of speaking to a deaf person thru relay. Besides if this becomes a regular thing, then fine sure, I will take the time to explain.

Been making phone calls, sending out emails, the usual bs. Tonight I will have dinner with Blondie. I havent had much chance to see her in the past few weeks. It will be good. I will also get to see my Sweetie tonight. He has been busy working on his cars, getting one of them ready for inspection to be used as his company car. i.e. more tax breaks!

Went to Radio Shack and got the friggin cord I needed for my external HD. I plan to work on my movies tmw if time permits and for sure SUNDAY will be dedicated to that soley.

Overall I feel good, my moods are upbeat. My sweetie is so kissable! My family rocks and my friends rock harder. How much better can life get?

Why I heart Cats!

Get this video and more at MySpace.com Saw this off of Queen Alpo's blog and had to post it for you all as well. The mirror scene in this video is my favorite! Meanwhile back at my apt, the Tin Man's cat, Kat is settling in sort of, the hisses have dropped from several hundred times a day to approximately 50 to 100 xs a day. Tom on the other hand, has full range of the apartment and comes and goes as he pleases. He doesn't pay any attention to Kat.

Been working on several things today such as my lesson plan for tonights ASL sub class that I'm covering and math lessons for next week tutoring meet. The tutoring yesterday went really well. Basically we covered areas such as circumference, diameters and radius. My student has to memorize the formulas in order to do the math problems. We also covered means, median and mode for statistic purposes. I think she will be fine as long as she practices and solves the problem in a neat fashion.

Hung out with my Sweetie Monday, it was a lazy day. I wasnt feeling too good so stayed home. We ordered pizza with my roommate. Last night after the tutoring session I met up with Szymanski for dinner where we ate at the Blue Angel Thai restuarant. It was good to see her. Apparently ASSwipe (my old roommate) is now on her case as well. Its no surprise to either one of us. But knowing how much of an asshole he can be, I know it makes the atmosphere hostile.

Overall I am happy to be back in NYC, working and getting ready for my trip to the Carribbean. I leave in 2 weeks for a 1 week cruise that I'm going with my friend Karen from MD. There are approximately 400 other deafies going, the rest are hearies. I am so excited about going somewhere new! I have never been snorkeling so my Sweetie is gonna take me somewhere soon to buy eye mask and snorkeling stuff so I wont have to rent them. I will of course have to use my special sea shoes. Its the kind you see surfers or beach goers wear. I hate anything touching my feet, it makes me panicky and I can't relax enough to enjoy the water. Its one of my many little quirks.

I got one of the needed wires for editing purposes but the 2nd one is still missing. I may just cave in and go to Circuit City and buy a new one. I am itching to edit!

See Food?

Remember that old joke kids would tell each other? "Do you like seafood?" and when you would answer "yes" the kid would stick out his tongue with bits of food and reply "see food!" while grossing you out!

Anyhoo I took Mom yesterday to Red Lobster in York for a belated birthday lunch. We both order snow crab legs (Mom got the King crab legs) and we feasted like royalty! Then I slipped into a food coma for an hour before we went to visit Nancy and Bobby and run some errands.

We also watched Galaxy Quest which we had both seen numerous times but it never fails not to make us laugh! I especially like the aliens they were trying to help (the way they walked, and laughed.)My Mom's Tv doesnt have CC because it was built before the law required built in caption decoders on TV sets. So when we want to watch something we are always limited to only DVDs that have English subtitles.

Today got up and went to the thrift store that I favor and unfortunately it was slim picking today. I asked the sales lady before leaving if it was me or did it seem like the selection was limited? She explained a bunch of people just quit so they werent processing things as quickly as possible to get them out on the floor. I was only able to snag 1 top and a pair of courdory pants, good for cooler weather. I also gave Mom a Barnes and Nobles gift certificate. My family have always been readers, no one home is complete without a bookcase(s) of books. Otherwise it seems like an empty house.

Came back home and got my things packed. I am taking the 5:21pm train back to NYC where my Sweetie will pick me up. The visit this weekend overall was very nice and relaxing. It always is!

The Tin Man brought over his cat, Kat to my apt this weekend. Seems where he is staying currently till he moves into his apt this October isnt taking good care of his cat. I ordered him to bring over Kat to my place so that he wont have to worry about whether or not she's being fed or taken care of. I hate people who get pets and for whatever reasons decide to get rid of them. Hello they are YOUR pets, your responsibility. If you didnt want to be bothered with an animal, why did you get one at all. To me, my pets are just as important to me as my family or children (if I had any.) Apparently Tom was very amicable and tried to sniff noses with Kat, but she wasnt having any of that and hissed 2xs before walking away. I am very excited to meet Kat tonight. Shes approx 10 years younger than Tom and has never met another cat before. Meanwhile Tom being as wordly as he is, is used to diversity and mingling with numerous cats that this is just one more notch on his belt. I hope Tom is being a good kitty host to Kat?

While sleeping last night

I woke up vaguely to feel the coolness in my room and in a weird way, its one of the reasons why I love fall. The coziness of being under the blanket and snuggling with Tom or the Tin Man when hes there makes me very happy. I am the most romantic in the fall out of all 4 seasons. The smell of fire burning and leaves changing are wonderful! Its not majorly significant in the grand scheme of things, but it makes me happy to be alive and to be in love with someone who I care for as deeply as I do for the Tin Man. He s a great hugger and isnt afraid of PDA. I cant stand people who yank their hands from their partner or refuse to kiss in public, not the kisses that people utter "go get a hotel kids!" But rather a quick peck on your sweeties lips because they're irrestible. My Sweetie has these great full lips. He has no idea how handsome he truly is.


Wednesday nite I popped in Battlestar Galactica opening season disc 1. I LOVED the story line. The Tin Man was telling me how great the show was and I was like *yawns*. Because I tried to watch it last year when it premired but its one of those shows you have to watch from the beginning episode otherwise you're lost. I have a new sci fi story to get lost into. I must add its very well done. The Tin Man is ordering the 2nd DVD for us to watch together. I cant wait!
Yesterday work went well. I mostly took the time to refresh up my memory on fractions (adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying) as well as converting fractions to % and % to whole nbrs. I also got a list of useful formulas for how to figure out the area, radius, circumferences etc etc.. Now I have to find a way to explain it to someone who doesn't understand. Thats the real challenge.

When I got home from work, I immediately started my laundry before my trip to PA today. Let me tell you something, its hard doing laundry with 6 flights of stairs both ways! Whats worse is one of the washers seemed stuck on rinse so after an extra 30 mins of waiting for the 2nd washer, I caved in and pulled out the soak towels and tried to squeeze out the excess water. I did those 6 flights of stairs approx 6 times! When my sweetie arrived, I txt msg him to please pick up some Thai chicken coconut soup and to grab the laundry, the wet towels, (tho by the 3rd time in the dryer they were just damp) out of the dryer and he did.

I also watched Survivors last night, I missed the 1st episode but it seems the tribes are divided by race. There are 4 tribes, Latino/Hispanic, White/European American, Black/African American and Asian/Asian Americans. I am curious which tribe out of the 4 retain the most members? I was sad to see the discrimination within the Latino/Hispanic tribe how they voted out one guy name Billy because he wasn't gung-ho, Spanish-speaking commarade they wanted him to be. Instead he is in a metal band and prefers the heavy metal culture. Another incident was within the Asian/Asian American group where one of the members performed as a stereotypical Asian accent that the other tribe members did not like. They didnt want that images perputated by this guy even tho he thought it might give them an advantage when faced by other tribes. That they would be fooled into thinking he wasnt very smart.

Today grab some brunch with the Tin Man before boarding the train to Lancaster. It was a smooth trip. Dozed off a little but luckily my pager has an alarm that I can use set on vibrations, so I wouldnt worry about missing my stop. Baba picked me up, we returned home for supper and yakked for a few hours about her maternal and paternal grandparents. It was very interesting and dinner made by Baba, DELISH! I will make it for the Tin Man and Joe Joy when they come to PA this November for the annual Greek Bazar weekend. I love for the pastitsio and honey balls!

Jericho

Tonight the TV called JERICHO premires and guess who s in the cast? Sho Stern! Yep, not only has she been on Weeds lately but now she's in this show as well. Check it out it comes on CBS @ 8pm! Give Sho your support!!!

Life keeps

me on my toes these past few days. On Monday, a friend, Franklin from MD stopped by my work to visit. It seems the place where she and Trebek were crashing at had a bitchy roommate who flipped when she saw Trebek sleeping on her beloved couch. It was later explained that the roommates weren't getting along and Franklin/Trebek got caught in the crossfire. So I offered up my living room for them to crash at.

I met up with Szymanski and Blondie for a wonderful Indian meal, when is it never wonderful?? We ended up gabbing for a few hours before I went home to meet up with Franklin and Trebek. They arrived, drop off their stuff and we hit the bar down below, called Toast, which is well-known for their hamburgers to grab a bite (me, I had a margarita and some ff cuz I was still pretty full from the chicken marsala.) It was great yakking it up with them. I realize I enjoy haning with lots of different people, it makes life so much more interesting and gratifying. Franklin also got the opportunity to meet my famous bitchy kitty, Tom and my roommate's Hamster name "Lazy Bastard." The funny thing is, Tom shows no interest in Lazy Bastard, no licking his lips, or crouching to sneak up on the little guy, more like, hmm.. "maybe if you chopped it up in smaller pieces, Ill feast, otherwise I am not gonna get my paws dirty." My roommate and I hung out with Franklin and Trebek for an hour or so, discussing airlines and what its like to be a flight attendant. I dont think people realize its hard work. My roommate comes home after being gone from 3 to 5 days at a time and goes into a coma for the next 15 hours due to pure exhaustion!

Yesterday I met up with my Sweetie down by 42nd st for lunch before I had to be at work later that afternoon. I decided to go into "touristy" mode and begged to hit Hard Rock Cafe. I have only been to the one in DC and wanted to see if it was a lot different? it sure is, the entrance is a small gift shop with Hard Rock Logo items. Then there's a staircase going down where we then were greeted by a host who ushered us to this area (I had no clue as to what was being said) but it quickly became apparent that our photo was gonna be taken. Snap, flash and a few seconds of seeing stars we then continue to another area where a different host sat us. Now granted I thought the food was lousy, its always lousy, same as DC. But the company was great! We talked and bs for an hour or so. The woman came by with our photo in 2 picture frames and 2 keychains with our photo selling them for $25 as a package. Neither me nor the Tin Man felt the picture did any justice, only verified our confusion to having our photo taken. We both have a puzzled or unsure look on our faces. We vetoed the package. No way would I ever shell out $25 for that crap. I know what we look like, we live here in NYC so its not the same as it might be for Bob and Marge from Iowa. They may actually be stupid enough to pay that ridicolous amount. Thinking "oh well, thats NYC for you, very expensive."

I went to work and met with my tutoring student for math. A native of NYC, and a deafie we hit it off right from the git go. After we did some stuff and agreed on a game plan, we had 45 mins left for the tutoring so she asked me to help her with her reading. Basically she would read a paragraph and then sign the concept to me. I would then let her know if she was right, partially right or off the mark and explain what the author really means. For example "we'll hang in there" doesnt mean people sitting around, hanging out but rather its a hearing slang for "we'll be fine," "we can put up with it" or "its not too bad, its manageable, tolerable..." The student was a little frusturated and I explained that these are cultural norms that hearing people pick up on everyday by listening to various conversations. Its the same for international folks who first language isnt English, its hard from them to graps our American sayings. During some of the clarifactions I would act out the emotion or the behavior being read by my student. Funny she remarked my facial expression was like that of a Black person and it was surprising for her (herself Black) to see a White Jewish woman like me, looking like that. I guess living in DC area all these years has altered my whitey DNA to at least an olive tone?? I didn't bother to explain I was involved with theater all my life and directed movies so its easy for me to mimic others. I could never be a FT actress simply because while I can act a certain way, its more for an example to my performers rather than a skill I could maintain for long periods of time. I just don't have the dedication to lose myself into a character, for a few seconds sure but all day long, day after day, week after week... I dont know it just doesn't appeal to me like it did when I was younger. I do enjoy being a background/ensemble extra more than a lead actress any day.

After work ended I swung by Cain's place because even tho I got some of my things the night before, I left behind important stuff like kitty cat liter scooper and trust me, every Cat Owner needs their scooper to keep their sense of smell intact. I arrived home and immediately cleaned my room up as it was driving me bonkers. Then I hooked up the I-Mac but no wireless service was accessible. I will have to call the cable company to see about having a wireless account open or try finding a plug in thinging like my bfs laptop that has a much broader range to pick up singles for wireless. I may be close enough to the several colleges nearby to pick up on theirs for free?

Later I joined my roommate to watch some cartoons and then we popped in MurderBall,
the documentary. I didnt get to finish it, but wow one of the characters Joe Soares brings major drama to the piece and the testosterone levels in this piece is extremely high. If they ever make a movie on this guy's life, they should get Woody Harrelson to play Joe Soares. They do look like they could be brothers!

What I liked a lot about this piece is they follow 3 to 5 different Quadriplegics life stories. And clarified many myths such as one rugby players gave an example of how he was out and about when one of his neighbors came over and remarked "why (name) its so good to see you out and about." as if he was hiding in a basement somewhere! Another guy remarked how he went to the food store to do some shopping and in the parking lot as he was getting ready to leave, someone approached him and asked him if he needed help getting into the vehicle? He's like "hello, how do you think I got here, did my food shopping, put the food in the vehicle and not be able to get in on my own!" Its the same crap deafies face about being "inspirational." Hell, go find something to do yourself thats inspiring but dont go up to every person who is different from yourself and make that dumbass remark! The movie also taught me that a Quadriplegic physical ability varies depending on where their neck was broken. The higher up the neck, the less mobility. But most do retain some functions in their upper body, such as arms and hands but maybe they cant grasp things. One guy likened his hands to spatulas. So the Quadriplegics rugby players have this tendency to identify themselves as a 2, 3, 4 whatever nbr they are to discribe where their necks were broken. I thought that was very interesting none unlike deafies who may identitify themselves as Deaf, deaf, oral, hoh, hearing impaired *shudders*... They also broached the topic of whether sex is doable or a dead issues. The goods news is, while everything waist below is paralyzed, their penises are NOT. What it didnt address was how much they actually feel while having a hard on? Most of them said, that was their biggest concern as to whether or not they will be able to wank off or be sexually desirable to others. I do wonder about female Quadriplegics, do they have any feelings in their clitoris? When having sex and being penetrated, can they feel this? I will watch the rest of it tonight but I gotta say, its one of the best documentaries I ever saw. If the American Rugby Quadriplegics Teams come to NYC for an event, I am sooo their. I would get Mark Zupans autograph in a heartbeat.

Here's a picture of Zupran in action, he is the USA team!

Last but not least, the USA Quad Rugby team has won the paralympics from 1990 to present every year except in May 2002 where they lost the championship by 1 point to Canada thanks to Joe Soares! You can read more about the US Quad Rugby Team here.

I ended up going to bed very late not because of Tv or the computer but simply couldnt fall asleep, finally at 3am, I popped in a melatonin to help me sleep and then dragged my sorry butt to work this a.m.. Tonight I have to burn some of my movies in quicktime format for my webdesigner. Currently the website is under construction but at least theres a site to go to. I will post it when its ready :)

JKF's lost twin...

Seems now the whole fiasco with JKF has only grown from bad to worse. I think its an interesting tatic now that many of the protestors are using Audism discrimination by the BOT. I went to Peggy's website and saw this link, its eerily accurate!

Its hard for me to share an opinion on this issue because I am not in DC anymore. I do not want to see JKF become the 9th prez this Jan.. this is has never changed and never will. Being a MSSD alumni I know what destruction she is capable of doing. JKF go HOME and stop holding onto your pride. We don't give a flying dead rat about your resume or self-glorification. We're looking at the bigger picture as to whether or not you are leadership material and guess what your records show that you are NOT! I consider her appt as prez to be as fishy as Bush's appt. It reeks of foul play. BOT wise up, admit your mistakes, vow not to do them again, re-open the selection process!

Hmm tasty!

Been mulling over an idea for a new script to do later this fall, probably during the holidays when I am not working as much. It will probably be 5 to 10 mins long. I am planning to ask one of my deaf-blind friends to star in it. It would be easy to shoot because so few characters and the locations are few as well.

I will admit, I am feeling kinda bummed lately for the lack of progress with my film editing. I haven't taken the IMAC out of the box sinced I moved in. My Sweetie unpacked it for me this weekend but it hasnt been plugged in or turned on. It only serves as a reminder for what hasnt been completed. I know I have been tending to my responsibilities the last few months (finding a place to live, acquiring more jobs...) still its a disappointment to myself when people ask me how it is going with the movie editing? I have decided that SDI is gonna take forever do to the voice overs (still have 3 people left to do). I will go ahead and begin editing PAWs with I-Movie instead of FCP because the scenes themselves do not require any extensive editing.

I was also not feeling too good this weekend. I did get to visit Eddie some on Saturday nite with the Tin Man and Szymanski. Yesterday met up with Szymanski and we went to Soho area for a few hours.

I have no more boxes left to unpack, just a question of organizing things. I feel pretty much settled and Tom is loving all the space he has. Everyone remarks how much nicer he is at the new apt. He didnt bite my Sweetie all weekend! Thats unusual for him. He loves a juicy tender bit of arm with just the right amount of hair to sink his teeth into. One of the tail signs is when he goes and licks you, because basically he's thinking "hmm, tasty!"

This Friday I head to PA for the weekend. It will be nice to take a break from NYC and see the folks back home. Tonight I meet up with Blondie and Szymanski for some Indian Marsala Chicken, yum!

Tmw is my first tutoring session for one student in regards to Math. I am looking forward to it and completing my paperwork at HR. I forgot my SS card last week so tmw I gotta bring it. Already took a marker and made a HUGE X on the back of my hand to remind myself to pack it in my purse tonight.


The Tin Man moved my TV to the living room but the cable line is too short (and I think chewed up?) so I am using it mostly for VHS/DVDs. I got to watch American Movie with the Tin Man. I love that movie, the main guy is this struggling film maker who has this Uncle Bill who helps finance the money. My favorite lines (cheesy stuff) is the script lines the filmmaker writes and has his uncle Bill recite "It's alright, its okay! You have something to live for. Jesus told me so." they did 30 some takes before the Uncle Bill quit. He couldnt seem to say all the lines without inserting, "umm..." here and there. Hysterical!



We also watched the lame ass movie Mystery Men. At times it was hilarious but about 2/3rds of the way into the movie we had to stop watching it. We just couldnt take it any more, the lame story lines.

Having the TV in the living room has help me to watch a lot less tv and actually read more in my bedroom. I know in the past having the tv in my room often causes me to go to bed later because I just can't resist catching the end of a show or movie and suddenly its 3 or 4 am! This week I plan to finish watching "Koko the signing Gorilla" and Ghandi the movie.

a'ight back to work!

Behind SDI Scenes

Joe Joy did "Behind the Scenes at Stone Deaf Interrogation" SDI works, you can check it out here. This will give you an idea of who's involved and what we had to do in order to get it done :)
Thank you Joe Joy!!!

These past few days

have been a blur! Monday nite's 9/11 film gig went well. I was tired but I enjoyed the event and being with deafies. I realize this summer I have been mostly in "hearing" mode. I need to strike a balance between the two.

The other day when I posted the bit about Jews being stereotyped as money grubbers or cheap I wanted to show that not all Jews have or come from money. As a matter of fact up till the 1900s, most Jews in Europe were farmers. When they came to this country to escape perscution in Russia and all around in Europe as well as the Holocaust they settled mostly in NYC and Boston. Since they were limited to where they could live and farming isnt really an option in the city environment they had to form new trades. There have always been some Jews who were wealthy none like any other race or nation. But a majority like me work hard every day to make an honest living. The only advantage the Jews may have over the Christians or other Western religion, is our religion (Judaism) encourages education and thinking for one's self. It is up to each generation to interpret the Torah with a fresh perspective and how it applies to their lives today. The Christians notorious for the dark and middle ages kept their masses ignorant by having only those in power, (church leaders, etc) learn how to read and write. Thus forced the masses to heed to whatever they said. I think this hurt a lot of gentiles for centuries. Judaism would fall under Eastern religion if it were not for the fact there is a diety involved (G-d). I like Eastern philosphy a lot because again it encourages thinking, retrospection, analyias etc etc. I am a big fan of Confucius. I thought his life story was fascinating. If you ever get a chance to brush up on his background and how his beliefs like Jesus, Muhammad, Ghandi and others influence the public during their time, I gaurentee you, you will no longer consider him to be limited to fortune cookies!

Yesterday met up with 2 of my supervisors and took care of paperwork for Human Resources. Spent most of my afternoon there. Last night I focused on my room, switching summer clothes for winter clothes, organizing my drawers, hanging stuff up. Then I moved some of the smaller furniture around to create space and allow me to further unpack personal stuff like perfume, hair products, lotions etcetc. All the things a woman needs to live in NYC. The last thing I have to organize is my "office/computer" stuff. I want to make some kind of nook or cranny where I can edit in the living room, that still has to be figured out. I also need one end table for next to my bed for reading etc etc. The one I have is too big that the door to the room can't close. The other one too small. Like Goldilocks I haven't found the one "that just right."

Right now I am at work, then I will meet my Sweetie after work. I can't wait, havent seen him since the weekend. We will hit BrawdyVille tonight as well. Here's a promo that Joe Joy did for you to review.

Today is MOM's Birthday, happy birthday MOM!!!

I'm awake.. I think...

Woke up this morning and rolled out of bed. Was up late last night, watching a Jennifer Lopez movie Enough on TNT, the only cable channel on my set worth checking out. It seemed TNT was doing a marathon with Lopez's movie, I caught the beginning of Angel Eyes which looked promising.



With the wireless internet we have the minimal access to tv channels, mostly the giants like (ABC, NBC, Fox...) public tv (MNN, NOVA, PBS...) and crap channels like (food network, tnt, telemoundo...)My netflix movies came too, I ordered "Koko the signing Gorilla." made in 1973, and its CC!







Funny when I was 10 years old, I got a dog, a black lab who my family and I named Koko, after the signing gorilla. I used to have a poster of Koko and her kitten above my bed. This was before I became a "deafie" with cultural identity.

Speaking of TV, the Tin Man sent me a link about Star Trek being digital remastered, you can read more about it at Star Trek




anyhoo my weekend was awesome! Friday nite I had dinner with Knob, King and Szymanski at Harbour Lights. It was right on the water in South Seaport. The dinner was pricey but the company and ambience was more than worth it. Even tho I was grumbling the next day to the Tin man I couldve had 3 or 4 meals out of what I spent but thats just me, I am cheap. I must admit Jews are known for being thrifty, (money grubbers) but I am thrifty not because I am a stingy Jew but because damnit, I am POOR! Besides its like a quest for me, how much money can I save? Buy clothes at thrift stores, food on sales or generic brand, taking the subway over a cab, etc etc.. some days when I get compliments on my clothes, I proundly reply the whole outfit aside from the undies and socks may have cost me 12 bucks or less! After dinner, it was DPHH time, the bar that was choosen was actually a sit down kinda place. Many deafies like to stand around and yak so they moved to a different bar, and I headed home to unpack more. I'm in the first photo in NYCDPHH website. Also here's another pix of me, taken by Szymanski!


Saturday met up with Joe Joy for Brunch/Lunch in Union Square. It was great to finally sit down and catch up with my main Gay! He is my first Gay friend who I consider myself to be his fag hag. I have had gay friends all my life but every woman knows theres always one or two gays out there that you become their fag hag for life. Joe Joy is mine! He came to my new apt, gave me thumbs up and went into Mama Joe mode by folding clothes of mine and helping me break down cardboard boxes to take to the recyclables. I had a blast.

Then @4pm Sat I met up with my Sweetie who brought me a new SideKick 3 in leiu of my digital camera not arriving in time for my birthday (its on back order and should arrive any day now) he felt bad that a whole month went by without a bday gift. I explained to him the trip to Niagara Falls and dozen of roses was more than enough but he disagreed. Hey I am not minding being spoiled, its just I am not used to it. If anyone who knows me, I LOVE presents, gimmie gimme gimme.... funny my ex was terrible at gift giving. He felt material goods was in no way able to show the "love" but he's wrong. Gifts show consideration, thoughtfulness. It shows you are thinking about that person such as their birthday or during an anniversary. I gotta say one of the things I love about the Tin Man is he is VERY considerate of me. For example the new SideKick 3 has an MP3 player for music. I can never use headphones not because they aren't loud enough but because everyone around me has to listen to my music which ranges from Metallica to the Doors to Madonna! So he order a special headphones with an amplifier for me and apparently this set not only increases the volume for me, but decreases the likelihood of it bothering others around me. I may also be able to use it for phone calls with family or him (peoples voices I know, not for everyday calls.) He was a little concerned when he told me this because he felt I might think he was being "audist" by giving me this but I told him I thought it was so sweet of him to go out of his way to find me headphones I could use. We will test it out when it arrives, if it doesnt work, back it goes! We also went to Bed, Bath and Beyond for some needed items to help me settle into the new apt. I ended up spending $140 on a set of sheets that I thought were $99, thats way too much, I love the sheets but not that much. I will return it later this week.

Sunday I unpacked more, went uptown for a little shopping and had my first dinner party. I invited Blondie, Szymanski and King for dinner. I was originally gonna make salmon but the stores nearby didnt have it or if they did, it looked questionable, so instead I order chinese take out, steamed chicken, shrimp and veggies. Blondie and King brought bottles of Chardonay which we killed off both bottles last night. Szymanski brought this delicious lemon cake, with berrie toppings to die for. We also played Set. (Szymanski intro me this game last year, excellent choice for deafies who pride their visual abilities). This website has a daily puzzle so check it out, it was created for folks like those involved with Mensa. If you dont know what Mensa is, then dont bother going to the site...that automatically lowers your IQ to under a 100 if Mensa is a new to you *winks* We also played some 90's trivia pursuit. It was a blast, a lot of good conversations and laughing and it was just so nice to be able to have a small dinner party. I havent been able to do so since living in MD.

My roommate got home late last night, she's a flight attendant so it was funny to see her walk in with the uniform on and her wings pinned to her lapel. She was disappointed not to see Tom my bastard kitty, I explained that Blondie and I will be bringing over on thursday evening. I want to finish unpacking before bringing him home and get his food and cat box set up. I asked her if she was ok with the few boxes that have to be unpacked and some clutter, she didnt care. I am relieved because I am not trying to take over the apt.. I believe in sharing and shes a nice girl. I feel very lucky to have a new home with a cool roommate, in a good location.

Tonight I have a film gig downtown for a friend's premiere. It totally slipped my mind today is 9/11. Wow 5 years, they went by quickly. Also since the cat is out of the bag, I've decided to post a photo of my new tattoo I got on July 27th signifying the end of grad school, Sarah's passing, becoming a real filmmaker, dating the Tin Man.



The smaller one I got 7 years ago in honor of Chanda's death. Of course my family wasn't very happy, they never are when it comes to this. But I was geniunely surprised by Baba's reaction which was very minimal and short lived. I expected her to be mad for days but I think she knows, thats who I am, agreed or not, I'm still me, the deafening chameleon! Below sums up my mood (this was a magnet on Eddie's refridgerator door and I just had to snap a shot of it)the pix is kinda small but it reads "Its been lovely but I have to scream now."

Crocodile Tears...

I am sure my nephew Bobby is upset along with many other children in this country and abroad about the unfortunate death of the "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin who was killed a few days ago by a sea creature which stung him! Whats worse is that school started nationwide about the day after he died so I am sure many children went to school sad and the teacher's had them write fan letters to his family. I didnt watch his show much, as thats not my kind of genre but I knew kids loved it, even when I worked at MSD, my students would want to watch it and considering all the crap on cable, this was one of the better shows out there.

Last night, I mostly hung around watching tv with the Tin Man, without my hearing aid on all evening. It was a nice break, I did unpacking, smooching, watch Without a Trace all in deaf mode. I did wonder if he minded so when I asked him he said it was so much easier to focus on my signing or teaching him the right signs when its just the two of us alone. When living with Cain and Blondie, it could be distracting at times. Besides I notice most guys in relationships want alone time more than women do. I think women naturally enjoy the company of others more so because we are more communicative by nature, I forgot the nbrs but it was like for every 4,000 words spoke by a guy, equals like 10,000 for a woman? Or something along those lines. I did enjoy relaxing with my Sweetie, he was smiling more and so was I. Its been a stressful summer for us both and the whole hearing/deaf differences can be trying at times. I also noticed, we re both getting used to how the other one is. For example, when I am overtired or trying to work on cleaning/unpacking I can get a little bitchy. He took it in stride and instead of getting upset with me, he let it roll off his back. Thus I then would say things like "I am sorry for being snappy or bitchy, its cuz I am tired(or want to unpack)." Because I will always admit when I say or do something wrong, no matter how trival it may seem. I think he knows the difference to me being moody and me being upset with him? I am trying to do the same for him.

Funny every day that passes my work load increases, whether its at Media or teaching related, by Oct, I am gonna be working pretty much FT all week. Now I have to focus on getting affordable healthcare, which I hope to do next week wed. Perhaps tmw I will pick up my new earmold, see see?

Being tired is an Understatement!

I am sooo worn out, but the move is officially over! Yesterday the Tin Man, one of his friends, Erfo and King all helped me move my things up 5 flights of stairs, in the rain too. It was hard work, and I am a little sore today but very happy to have a place to call my own. My new roommate was there last night, so we celebrated a little with some champange, pizza and good conversations.

I had to drop off the truck this morning before going to work this afternoon. Lucky for me its an easy day today at Media Services. Basically during my free time in between jobs, I am making relay calls and figuring out my plans for the month of Sept.

The Labor Day weekend was nice, I mostly packed and spent a lot of time with my man. I also got to meet Erfo's aunt who was cool and is a psychologist. She had a book collection in her field that had me drooling! She was kind enough to offer me her old dresser (which was in excellent shape) except as we discovered the dresser had no backing, so there wasnt anything to support the frame. Thereby if we moved it, it would collaspe in itself. So I only ended up taking a small little box with drawers that has these nifty plastic handles shaped as crowns, hand fists and one more thing that escapes me due to being so worn out.

Tonight will work on my apt some with the unpacking. I am looking forward to Friday to eat dinner with Joe Joy and catch up before hitting DPHH. I miss being in a room full of many deafies, my hands are aching for some BIG time socializing with other deafies!

hard 2 believe

its been 2 years since I moved to NYC (Manhattan). It was the best, scariest decision I ever made. Never during my 20s did I ever think I would end up here. I figured me and my ex would get married, settle down in MD. I would keep teaching at MSD but in 2002 it all changed for the better. Even tho at the time I was heart broken, and my self-esteem was at a nil.

I remember how packed my old car was with all of my belongings. Every inch, nook and cranny filled with odds and ends like a can of soup here, a shoe there, anything that had an opening was filled. Poor Tom he had to sit on my lap the whole way up from MD to NYC. He would try to get up and move around but there was no where for him to go. I moved up here after the Republican conventioned ended, I refused to share this wonderful city with them! Besides I knew traffic would be worse with all the newsreporters and what have yous in town that week.

Funny I am not racist, but I am prejudist against the following;
-hard core right wingers (republicans)
-religious fanatics who can't see more than one way to live
-racist against anyone but themselves (including any groups, Blacks, neo-nazis, deaf militants, etc etc)
-holier than tho folks (who act superior or belittle others)
-bullies (mean people still suck!)
-people who commit animal torture/children abusers/rapists
-snobs (intellectual and financial)

See there is no way for anyone in the world not to be bias. Bias comes from personal experiences. Out of all the folks I listed above the only one I may have crossed the line is with Republicans because I do know some who are good people. Sure it boggles my mind, how can they think Bush is a demi-god, I am not sure but they are also a product of their environments.

Friday night, I met one of my Bf's friend from Brooklyn. Basically it was a "double date." I was a little nervous cuz I didnt know what to expect so when we arrived at Unos, I order a chocolate Martini to calm my nerves a little. Once we sat in the booth and ordered dinner, the conversation flowed quite easily. Occassionally my Sweetie had to terp for me, but overall it was fun. I would like to see this couple again soon. Maybe go shoot some pool or bowling?

Spent the afternoon with my Sweetie yesterday, even tho it was lousy weather (major rain and wind from the Hurricane down south). We ht one little clay shop that sold ceramic pieces (plates, cups, piggy banks, etc etc) that you could paint and buy. Then after they fire it in a Kiln, you can return 1 week later to pick them up. My ex would never do things like this with me of his own free will. We went to his rich aunts "Clay Cafe" in VA with some friends a while back. He gave me a hard time the whole way there. I was miserable even tho both of his sisters were there, and my friends too, the fights with him on the way to that event made it sour experience for me as a whole. It was nice to go with the Tin Man and relax, joke some. Plus theres not a whole lot to do on a rainy day. Last night basically watch tv and read, needed a little "me time."

Today is beautiful but I had plans to pack, do laundry and edit so Ive been inside most of the day. Argh the weather isnt cooperating with my schedule!

The Red Cross meeting last friday was a huge success. Basically due to the lack of terps or instructors who can sign ASL, they are drafting up a contract for me to be trained as a certified Red Cross instructor for free in exchange for volunteering the amount of hours these classes take *approx 40 hrs* (5 8 hrs days of training). I would have to fulfill my volunteer obligations within 2 years. This sounds like a great plan. I will recieve my training one on one because with my hearing aid, I can hear well enough in a quiet background and if the person doesnt have an accent. I already told the coordinator during our meeting last Friday that (while its ok for me to have 1 on 1 training with a hearie) if another deaf individual comes in wanting to take classes or whatever, that the Red Cross needs to be prepared to provide them with a terp, regardless of their speaking ability. Its still new to many hearies that a deaf person speaking ability is not a reflection of their deafness. Trust me they do NOT go hand in hand. That the Red Cross should not expect any other deaf person to be willing to do 1:1 training just because I did. They got the message, I wasnt mean just upfront and honest. I often tell hearies, I am a bad example of a deafie, (esp when I am the first one they ever met). I dont want hearies to look at me and say "well look at her, her speech is understandable, she seems to understand me, why cant they all?" why? cuz deafies varies as much as any other human beings. Some need glasses, some need asthma meds etc etc..

I decided to postpone tmw tutoring session because I need to focus on packing and getting ready to move tuesday. I have my things scattered at 2 friends apt and 1 storage unit. Tues gonna be a long day but a good day because now I can finally settle and nest my newest living abode.

Soon I will head downtown to meet the Tin Man at Union Square. I want to treat him to dinner, because he paid for me friday and yesterday. Plus walk around a little tonight, stretch my legs. Enjoy this weather while it lasts.

Cheshire's Grin

I am a happy woman today! The past 24 hours have been GREAT! Last night had a wonderful time with my Sweetie. I enjoy him more and more as time goes by. He fessed up the hearie/deafie issue was harder than he ever expected. I was glad because I knew it would be and I knew some of the tension must stem from the cultural differences. But for him to say it and admit to it, meant the world to me. I told him he doesnt have to spend 24/7 with my deafie life, (dphh, deaf events...) I mean really I don't expect him to have a good time because how could he? He's left out. NO matter how much I try to involve him, it only goes so far. Today he got a new PDA which has a keyboard. That makes txt msging so much easier for us both.

Earlier I stopped by my new apt to pick up the keys and run some errands. Bianca and I strolled around her neighborhood and I brought 2 wine glasses for 25 cents each. (so sad the keyboard no longer has "cent" symbol as an option).

My FCP tutor came by @7pm. She rocks! She didnt hurry me nor did she waste time spoonfeeding me needless information. She and I were on the same wavelength. Here's more info on Dj Tikka Masala. She was born in India but grew up in NJ, spent a few years in California and then moved back here. She works primarily in documentary and as a sound engineer. And she's aspiring Dj herself. I told her if she ever needs glowing references to feel free to ask me.


Decided to delete yesterday's post because I think my point was made and no need to dwell on old news. I look towards the future, as Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story says "To Infinity & Beyond!"

Polar Opposites!

Ironically my sweetie and I can see eye to eyes on many issues but in many other ways we're polar opposites! It does make things interesting. I am not sure how opposite attracts works in the long run? I saw this and thought the questions they listed are worthy to review not only for myself but for him as well; Online Dating Magazine. In the beginning its great listening to a different view point then your own and seeing qualities you admire in someone else that you do not possess yourself. Now 3 months have gone by and these differences have become glaringly different in certain ways. Topple that with the usual 3 month "review of the relationship" along with the 6 month and the 1 year review can make for unnecessary tension and simple arguments.

I learned recently that certain people around me and my Tin Man have made remarks about what I am or are not capable of. I was shocked to learn what was said about me, and hurt as well. I know I am not perfect. As Ronnie likes to say I am NOT "naming names" here. I have tried to do the right thing all my life but for others not to believe in me or my ability to stand on my own two feet, that STUNG! And whats more is that the Tin Man had time to mull over these opinions (because thats what they are, not facts) and apply this to what he sees in me made things difficult over the weekend. I felt like, hey wait a minute, you don't know me that well (3 months!) how can you even apply those remarks to me? I know right now I am not ready for a serious, "let's get married" relationship. But I am all for dating and getting to know someone I like very much to see if it will lead to this. I know it would be nice to have that special someone in my life, to get married and possibly start a family. I just cant think about it now. After I ve dated someone more than a year, I can start to wonder about marriage and a family but I spent my 20s thinking about my "future" and when it never materialized. I learned bitterly that no matter how hard you try to plan things, things never go accordingly. Life will pull the rug out from under your feet at anytime!

Besides I was fortunate enough in two ways. One I had role models in my life who didn't have children and I saw the advantages of that. Secondly, I moved to a city that embraces differences and deviation from the traditional path. No I didn't grow up as a kid, pretending to be a mother of 5 kids, but I have always wanted to have someone special to share my life with. As long as that special someone shares me with the rest of the world. They dont have to be with me if they don't want to when I am with many others, as I will always set special time aside for the persons I love. I have a lot of love to give, I will not run out anytime soon. By sharing my life with family and friends, I feel very rich.

I appreciate the Tin Man immensely and enjoy his company. But I have a life to build for myself, just finishing grad school and getting my ducks in a row. I hope he can understand this about me and not take it personally because I enjoy dating him for now and hope he does too?

Today I did one voice over and soon will be back to editing. I am glad I went to PA last week, it was a great break and to see everyone!

Quail Song

Baba, the Tin Man and I went to say goodbye for the last time to the boat and to the Two River Basin Yacht area last Thursday. The Quail Song has seen better days. Thats the problem with wooden boats, all of the parts must be replaced every 10-20 years because it warps! I wasnt happy to find my boat falling apart. [Photos will be added later, technical difficulties at the moment]

Yesterday was an easy day, we ended up not going to the Green Dragon but Nancy and Bobby did stop by for a short visit. I promised them the next time I would go.

The Tin Man and I are getting ready to head back to NYC for Blondies' birthday! Tmw I will edit and visit my friend Eddie who had some problems with an infection on his knee due to a cat scratch :(

I did recieve some good news this week in regards to jobs, seems I will be teaching 4 nights a week. 2 nights ASL and 2 nights English for Deaf Adults continuing their education. Plus I still have my media tech job so I may just earn enough to squeak by?

Green Dragon

In my hometown there are two cool flea markets to go to, one is called Roots which is open on Tuesdays and Green Dragon which is open on Fridays. Since Blondie's birthday is tmw, the Tin Man and I were planning to head back for tomorrow night to celebrate her 30th bday. But it seems due to a conflict with another deaf event, the MET tours is also happening as well as another event in Coney Island that the birthday celebration will most likely be postponed to Saturday. In that case, the Tin Man and I can hang in my home town one extra day and hit the Green Dragon tmw. I plan to invite my aunt Nancy and my nephew Bobby.

Today Baba, Tin Man and I are all headed to Two Rivers Yacht Basin where my grandfather kept his boat the Qualye Song docked at. I spent most of my childhood summers going to Chesapeake City in MD to spend time on our boat. We would swim, sail and go crabbing. When my grandfather (Papa) passed away 15 years ago yesterday (August 23rd). We got rid of the boat, much to my dismay. I wasn't old enough to take over the boat, having just turned 17 at the time. Neither one of my twin uncles were interested in keeping the boat so my grandfather's friend who he shared the boat with sold it. Meanwhile I havent been to the boat in about 14 years when my two uncles, my aunt Nancy and I all went out to scatter Papa's ashes in the Chesapeake Bay. Recently my family was informed whoever owned the boat, the Qualye Song abandon it and stopped payments for the dock fees. So basically the boat is falling apart and we're gonna go down today and take some pictures and I guess say goodbye to the boat that has given the family many wonderful memories. I hope someday to be able to go boating again. I will post pictures tomorrow. I am excited to show my sweetie where I spent a lot of my childhood at. I want to walk along the planks and show him the mini shore.

Then we will hit the Chesapeake City for dinner, soft shell crabs, YUM!

Reverse Racism

It seems to me since I moved to NYC, the racial tension is a lot higher than it was back in DC/Balitmore. I have a harder time understanding why other than the fact that NYC has racial tensions not only between the Hadisic Jews and the Black community but all of the minorities have beef with one another.

I've decided to google this topic and see what turned up. So far I agree with the following;

Blacks and Jews:
A Revolutionary View
Revolutionary Worker #971, August 30, 1998

"Who are our enemies? Who are our friends? This is a question of the first importance for the revolution."

Mao Tsetung

Some people argue that Jewish people have played a special role throughout history--oppressing Black people and keeping them from achieving prosperity within the capitalist system.

It is argued that Jewish merchants and slaveowners played a special role in the brutal slave trade that brought kidnapped Africans to the New World.

It is said that Jewish merchants and landlords are a special cause of the poverty of Black communities.

It is said that "Jewish control" of the media and educational institutions has led to a conscious "Jewish conspiracy" to produce "negative images" and "self-hatred" among Black people.

These views are not true--they are based on myth, distortion and a promotion of mistaken prejudices. And all those who really want to end the oppression of Black people--and all oppressive systems--need to take a scientific approach on who is the enemy:

The main oppressor and main enemy of the masses of Black people is the capitalist-imperialist system and its ruling class. It is this system that has lived off the labor of generations of Black people and millions of other working people. It is this system that has created the urban ghettos, today's massive unemployment, the armed occupation by police, the systematic oppression Black people face as a people --and it is the ruling class of this system that profits from and defends those conditions.

Jewish people are by no means the main oppressors of Black people, nor have they been historically. In fact, Jews as Jews have never in history been major oppressors of any people or classes.

Today, the majority of Jewish people in the U.S. are middle class, playing many different social and political roles in society. Some merchants and slumlords in Black ghettos, especially in New York City, have been Jewish. But even then, those merchants and property owners were not the main oppressor of Black people or the main cause of poverty in those communities. Overall, the vast majority of Jewish people are not oppressors, and have a potential to be allies and supporters of the revolution.

Anti-Semitism, which claims that Jews as Jews are an enemy, plays into the hands of the real enemy. If a Jewish person did a thing, it does not mean that Jews as a group were behind it. Or that it benefited Jews as a group. There are some Jewish people within the ruling class and others who play an oppressive role in society. But this is a matter of their class position and their role in the overall structure of capitalist society and economy--not of their "Jewishness."

There is no "international Jewish conspiracy" and there never has been. Writings like "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" that claim to document such conspiracies are complete fabrications written by reactionaries and police agents--and circulated to poison the minds of the people.

Jews as Jews are not oppressors--but the state of Israel is an enemy of the international proletariat. Israel is the direct oppressor of the Palestinian people, in the service of imperialism, and is a major outpost of imperialism in the whole region of the Middle East. Zionism is a reactionary nationalist movement that supports Israel and its oppression of Arab people. But Zionism is not the same thing as the Jewish religion, Judaism. Zionists claim to speak for all Jews--but they do not, in fact, speak for all Jews or represent their interests.

You can read more at http://www.rwor.org/a/v20/970-79/971/blajew.htm which goes on to talk about how involved the Jews were in the slave trades back in the 1600s, 1700s (btw not much at all). I am starting to see where some people who are NYC residents might believe this bullshit. That the Jews are the "Black man" oppressor.

Here's another citation I would like to post;

From Cooperation to Conflict
During the 1950s and 1960s, Jews and African Americans were closely allied in the civil rights movement, and, indeed, Jews played a prominent role in the leadership of most, if not all, of the major civil rights organizations. As noted earlier, Stanley Levinson, a Jewish attorney, was Dr. Martin Luther King's chief advisor. Kivie Kaplan, a retired Jewish businessman from Boston, served as president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and was, as well, one of Dr. King's major fund-raisers and financial contributors. Marvin Rich, another Jewish attorney, was the chief fund-raiser and key speech writer for James Farmer, head

[p. 146] ... More than half the white lawyers who made their services available to civil rights demonstrators in the South were Jews. Between half and three-quarters of the contributors to civil rights organizations - including the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), CORE, and Dr. King's Southern Christian Leadership Con- ference (SCLC) - were Jews. More than half the white freedom riders were Jews. Almost two-thirds of the whites who went into the South during the Freedom Summer of 1964 were Jews including, of course, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman who, along with their black colleague James Chaney, were murdered by racist thugs in Mississippi.

More can be found at http://users.cyberone.com.au/myers/j-over-b.html

I think its crazy to blame the Jews for everything. Havent they been persecuted enough throughout history (both BC/AD!). I think both groups, the Blacks and the Jews need to be supporting one another, not tearing each other down. I have dealt with a lot of anti-sematics in my life. And it shocking to see it in such a wonderful place like NYC where every walk of life exist there and know there is still so much prejudice a person could choke on it. Don't get me wrong, NYC is an EOE where you can hate everyone equally, but why?

Forbearance

Forbearance is my new favorite word, it means "A lender's postponement of foreclosure in order to give the borrower time an opportunity to make up for overdue payments. " I recently spoke to both of my loans people to ask for more time to find steady work before making repayments. Both agencies have granted me a 1 year forbearance on my school loans. Now I can relax and do my freelancing jobs and hopefully by this time next year have a reasonably steady income?

Tonight my Sweetie will be coming up. I cannot wait to see him. How funny a few days apart can make one feel. I love the feeling of seeing him after a few days and the excitement that it builds up to. If we're together 24/7 how can I ever appreciate him? The time apart was good, I was able to catch up with Baba and sleep. I also did some editing, still more to go, a never ending task. I need to finish the voice overs before I move because I want all of my voices to have the same background noises so that way when I add them the audience cant tell. If I do the voice overs in different rooms and different AC, the hearies are gonna know immediately. Any upcomming projects I do in regards to film making, I will have a sound person on hand. Period, I cannot risk my work's quality to be anything less than subpar. I also plan to ask for 1 or 2 people in lighting. I can go to NYU and NYFA and post for volunteers as well as Craigslist, actorsnews and mandy.com.

Alrighty I gotta run over to Mom's place. We're having Kuggle for dinner and a few rounds of skip bo!

Free Yearly Credit Reports

As many of you know there are three credit reporting agencies;

Equifax
Experian
TransUnion

I was deluded into one of these agencies website to pay $12.95 a monthly to access my one report at Experian... PLEASE! by federal law these three agencies must give every consumer out there a copy of their credit report 1x a year. I recently wasted 30- mins on relay with the company trying to find out why I have to pay for a free report. It seems if you use the company's personal websites, they will charge you. But if you go to www.annualcreditreport.com you can obtain your credit scores 1x a year for free. Enjoy!

One more thing

I forgot to wish my friend Pack a happy 30th bday! For some reason I kept thinking it was August 30th not 20th but after seeing Knobs and Ridor's blog I realize I confused her would be age with her birthdate.

Sarah I have missed you so much in the 10 months you have been gone. I would have loved to help you celebrate your 30th bday this summer from one Leo to another! I wish so much to turn back the clock and let you know how much you meant to me as a friend. I know you knew I cared for you but I feel cheated you died so quickly and unexpectedly. It makes me angry at the ins company and NYU hospital for not taking better care of you! If anything I just wanted to take this time to cry a little and let you know down here we miss you tremendously! I miss our talks, ordering food, just the bullshit we used to do. You were my first real Nyer friend I made outside of Gally.

Sarah, you will not be forgotten and I hope now you and Chanda are keeping each other company till I join you all down the road when my time comes. You were a terrific person and I loved you dearly and miss you terribly.

Happy birthday from me to YOU!

Excess Baggage

Anyone who thinks they go thru life unscathed is a fool. I honestly believe that everyone has issues from their childhood. Whether its related to school or their family life, everyone has skeletons in their closets. What I disliked immensely about my ex is once he met me, he dropped his luggages (issues) by my feet and then during the 6 years we were together never once bothered to open up the suitcases, examine the contents and how it has impacted him and his views on life. It was like "ok here you go, I don't want to be bothered. Everything is fine. Na na la la *covering his eyes, stuffing fingers in his ears!*" But these isssues popped up over and over again throughout our relationship and his answer was the same always "I'm FINE!" Not, "well, this happened and it made me feel this way and thats why I worry when this happens." Nope, just "I'm FINE!" I cant stand people who cannot face their past in order to deal with the present and future. We are a product of our environment and genes. I personally advocate therapy for anyone with issues they havent address to avoid a "victim mentality." To me it shows wisdom and maturity to be able to sit down with a professional and lay your cards out on the table. Deal with the nitty gritty. By not dealing with these issues, I think a person is deluding themselves into thinking "out of sight, out of mind." I do not think a therapist, counselor is doing their job if they spend all the time with the client telling them what to think but rather empower the clients to come to conclusions to themselves and help them deal with it. Therapy isnt for the weak minded or those who are expecting an easy way in life. There are no short cuts, not even with ghosts of the past. You cannot will yourself to feel better, you must take action. I have gone to therapy three times in my life.

The first time was a grief counselor who helped me tremendously with the loss of my Grandfather (Papa).. It was the first time I had ever experience death with someone so close to me at the age of 17.

The 2nd time was when I was at Gally and in my sophomore year. I was driving myself crazy by worrying about everything that could go wrong, what my friends problems were etc etc. I was miserable. Then during the course of therapy it became clear to me why I was wasting so much of my time worrying about "what could happen" or worrying about friends, that I was keeping myself distracted by not looking at myself. I tell people its easier to criticize others then to hold a mirror to your own self.

The 3rd time was after my breakup. I was having a terrible time getting over a broken heart and my illusions about what love is.

In all 3 cases, my experiences with the therapist/counselors were terrific and helped me in the long run. I do know of cases with friends where the therapist is only interested in hearing their voices or being paid a fat sum per hour. I have never gone to a "private" counselor and paid for it myself, most of the time its been on a sliding fee and I find those in that settings to be the most beneficial and helpful. I cant speak for the pricey therapist and say their agenda is for the good of mankind, not for fattening their wallets.

I arrived in PA. Baba made this delish chicken salad to die for! I had 2 helpings! I am happy to be in PA. I needed a break from NYC. I also wanted to give Cain a break as well. Blondie is still in California so he will have the apt all to himself for the next 5 days!

The Tin Man and I went to lunch today before I boarded the train. He will come to PA wednesday nite to visit, we will hit Philly thursday. I personally want to go to a science museum. Maybe the Franklin Institute? The last time I went, there was no captioning and many of their displayed had monitors so I will call before going.

I got a great email from Ronnie today cautioning me not to use deaf culture as the main culprit of any problems I may have with the Tin Man. Shes right, I dont normally make a habit of doing so but still its good to be reminded by someone who's opinion I respect and she being a deafie with a hearie boyfriend I know she knows whats shes talking about. I will admit there are communication difficulties sometimes between us, mostly because I don't always understand the meaning of what he says and vice versa. I find I need additional details and he thinks its obvious. I told him its one of the few times where he must think of me like a "man" that I cannot read his mind nor will I assume anything. Give me details, details, details! If it isnt mentioned, I don't know, period. I am glad tho the other day the Tin Man reminded me how much he loves me and cares for me and wants to make it work. Just knowing this makes a world of difference.
..

Sleeping, Editing, "Me Time"...

Yesterday and today were dedicated primarily to editing. I only have 2 more characters left to do translations for voice over purposes. I should be able to do the remainder of the voice overs before moving Sept 5th. This week I will be setting up times with the last 3 actors. I must also do one character's scenes as her voice over because she moved back to Texas. That will be interesting.

Last night Szymanski and I went downtown to eat Indian for dinner. Yum, plus catch up and I edited more late last night.

Today edited more, the reason why is, I want to go to PA and enjoy my visit without worrying about a million small things to do when I return. I'll be back to NYC this Friday for a friends' birthday celebration but my focus will be on moving preperations and finishing voice overs. This is how I will end my summer 2006!

Tonight my Sweetie came by and we went out for dinner, later dropped off a shelf unit uptown for Szymanski and now I'm back at Cain's chilling. Overall a GOOD weekend. I was able to have some "me time" and get some serious work done. I know, sad that I spend my free time working on my movies but for me, its worthwhile.

Status report...

I forgot to confirm that yes the apartment deal worked out! I have a new roomie who seems cool and is a flight attendant. Which means she's home 10 days a month tops. Its pretty big too and this time I have a closet with a door. Reasonably priced, good location by way of train and in MANHATTAN! wheeeeeee! My approx move in date will be Sept 5th.

Finally got around to getting a new earmold made. I have been putting it off for months. I will say that for the League of Deaf and Hard of Hearing in NYC was well run. I was able to walk in and barely waited in the waiting room. The audiologist shared my first name and seemed like a nice lady. She of course like all audiologist do, needed to do a quick hearing test. Basically I raised my hand every time I "heard" a sound via headset. Really sometimes it can be confusing to what I "hear" and what I "feel" some of the higher pitch ones especially were like that. Also as all deafies know, your mind starts to confuse their test with phantom noises. You raise your hand not sure if its real or if your mind is only ringing? But back to the earmold. I was happy to pick out from a design collection called "cats eye" a little hot pink one. Happy is the ME.

Met the Tin Man's mom today downtown. Now I know where he gets his good looks from. Its apparent around the eyes and nose. I didnt get to meet with her long due to other errands and other commitments.

This week, I have come to the conclusion volunteering on hearing film sets isnt really my thing anymore. I mean I am glad for the experiences I have had but I realize that the deafness does get in the way of effective communication and creates long period of boredom. As a deafie with ADD I cannot stand the long periods of boredom on the sets. I'm stuck there all day, during the busy periods of the day, I'm fine, no problem but its during the down time (there's a lot of it on a film set because various crews set up, break down, etc etc), its boring as HELL.

Tmw I will edit, meet up with Szymanski, Sunday with my sweetie!

Next week I will visit my folks in PA. It will be great to see everyone. Good way to end August before fall begins. Apple cider anyone?

*hums the Jaw's theme*

Ironically I cannot actually hum the theme, a true deafie at heart. I only know of references to it made by hearies but for the sake of the entery, one must follow the arts as it is presented if using it as a reference, (wouldnt you agree Rusty?);


Oddly it has become clear to me and Cain that Tom my bastard nero-like kitty has earned a reputation for being a bit into cannibalism. So what happens is, Tom gets all moody with me and then he jumps off the couch. Cain happens to be sitting in one of those rocking office chairs on wheels, ya know the kind I am talking about. Tom jumps down and sits behind Cain. I decicded to tell Cain that Tom was "gunning for his legs." Of course he immediately picked up his legs, which I find to be funny as hell. I added then that it was like seeing the reaction to Jaw's the famous shark. Whats even funnier is that Cain said, "Tom is mostly grey with white on the bottom, with sharp teeth."

Life's little folklores

Worked on the hearing set today, it went ok. I wasnt really into it. I think it was the way it was run. (and the fact we ended up going downtown for this set to pick up props during heavy traffic did not help- thank you Sweetie!). Nyhoo, they dont need me tomorrow, gonna meet up with my Sweetie and enjoy the day with him.

Tonight did some editing. But mostly today was "me" day. I havent been sleeping my 9 hours for a few months now and its catching up to me. I know because I become very cranky and semi unreasonable when I am overtired. I am like a bear who needs to go in the cave and hibernate in order to function normally without becoming sick with an ailment. Or gruffy around others.

Now to be honest, I have never been a high energetic person. Once my teen years hit, I went into a more turtle more than rabbit mode. Dont get me wrong, I love activities and doing things. But once I have run out of steam, or otherwords, hit the wall. Then the best thing to do is let me veg out or to leave me alone. I like my Sweetie he allows me to relaxs and when I am in "bear" mode, to allow me to be.

I want him to feel he can do the same around me. I love doing my thing (work, school, etc) during the day. Then in the evenings, meeting up with him to compare notes and relax. Enjoy one another's company. And he makes me think. Sure I dont always like how he broaches the subject but I cannot deny it doesn't give one a moment to pause and think it over.

Check out this photo :)

Turtle & the Hare

Funny I had no idea how religiously based the story of the Frog and the Scropion
was on Christianity. It shouldnt surprise me as look at my home town. Its no wonder it was part of the reading curriculum when I was a child.

Immingration and leg of...

On todays CNN article 'Explosion of diversity' sweeps U.S., census shows...' it wasnt surprising to find West Virginia least likely to attract the international crowd. And with immigration laws being a hot topic on Capitol Hill and all across the nation I find this to be ironic. Because this country for the past 400 hundred plus years was built on the tears and sweats of so many different immigrants and their contributions. The US would not be where it is, if it wasn't for the constant, verstile and horrific measures (ie killing of the old inhabitants, the Native Americans). That there are many Americans who today are saying "us against them." Hello, we all of US were somewhere down the line one of "them" in the past. I don't care if your family is from England and arrived on via Plymouth ship. You then are a decesdant of immigrants. Since we as a human race migrated from Africa after the continentals divided. Yes law and order is needed, but I believe this country is capable of dealing with its already diverse population, why freak out when if anything, newbies will bring new ideas. I will give capitalism credit in this country where everyone ideally has a chance to be successful, powerful, etc etc. its nothing to sneeze at. I cant say for sure where I am with this issue above, but this is what runs thru my mind when I think about immigration.

Today is my day off, had some trouble with the bank today. FYI if you open an acct online. Dont expect to be able to go in person and have access to your "imaginary" online account because even tho both the branch and online site are from the same mother international company, they do not "interract." okay.... then it became clear. It was a way for them to trap me into opening a checking account. I didnt want to risk waiting for the time it would take to transfer over from 1 bank to another bank. Apparently the magical ability of having a checking acct with them, is it will allow me to have access to my online savings account. BUTT that I will have to wait till tmw morning and find some dumbass early bank location to get the check, thereby delaying the roommate, payment meeting. Lucky 4 me, she was cool about it. Thats how it is sometimes in NYC. Youre plain old busy. I love working!

The party last night was ok. There were some people I really enjoyed seeing. Others I could have never have met them and my life would be none different for it. Overall, the Tin Man finally met the Lamb. A leg of Lamb he is. I think it was interesting mixs of hearies, deafies, and all those in betweens.

Here are some photos I took with my beloved IMac of the set of roses from the Tin Man. He gave them to me Friday, it was very sweet of him. I am glad today is tuesday and they look wonderful like he does!