a million and one ideas for cans

1st installments of "Can-O-Visions"

Mona Lisa doesn't need her mouth, her eyes say it all

Just give 'peas' a chance. And what about the lava lamp, Groovy eh?

Szymanski pays hommage to Jim Henson's most famous creations, Kermit

Looks like a bit from a Cocoa Cola winter commercial but better. Suprisingly more realistic. It was titled "The Unbearable Truth" about HUNGER in the world and here at HOMe.

Interracial couples

Today on the train on the way downtown I saw two different couples with
their kids on the train. One couple was a White guy and an Asian woman.
The other one was a White man with an African American woman. Makes me
feel like Jack and I are in good company. Both of the couples are older
than us and they looked very content. Ironically the 1st couple had
already boarded when the 2nd couple boarded the train. You could see
them exchanging looks of belonging to the same club. I wanted to tell
them I'm a "member" too! When Jack and I go out, most people are very
accepting of us. Occassionally an uptight out-of-towner whitey will give
us a "murderous" look but I say "f*ck em!"

Haven't seen my Sweets all week. Our schedules have been conflicting,
finally tonite we will spend the evening together. Can't wait, miss him
a LOT!
Its weird cuz sure we argue a lot, have our issues but when he's not
around. I crave his presence. Damn him. I wasn't looking to fall in love
so easily. I'm famous for wearing my heart on my sleeve. Luckily for me,
he craddles my heart ever so gently.

Rusty came to watch me student teach yesterday, Friday. He's feedback on
my performance was exactly what I already knew. Less MOUTHING in English
and more Student-Centered teaching. I wish he could observe me at my
Undergrad class but either way I know I must work on these 2 areas. I
was tired too yesterday, my energy was at its lowest ebb.

I'm headed to meet Friends for the "Tin Towers" exhibit, check out

www.canstruction.com. I will snap pixs if allowed with my trusty SK2!
Then we'll head over to St. Marks to shyme (I can't spell this yiddish
word, basically to window shop) around. Baba will porbably leave the
correct spelling on my comment section ;)

My 3rd roommate moved in. Nice man, I can't understand him 75% of the
time, major accent but we make it work.

The battle with my dentist here in NYC continues. See I went in for a
cleaning on Oct 23rd and the whole visit including the x-ray took approx
15 mins! The dentist did a POOR job and I still had plague, stains on my
teeth. I contacted my deaf friend who's a hygienest and she explained
what the dentist office did was ILLEGAL and I should be refunded my
money (the exam cost me $200!) so I wrote to them explaining my
disappointment with the visit and how I wanted a refund. They replied
that I could go back for a 2nd visit but I declined and stated that if I
did not receive the refund. I would report them to both the Better
Business Burea and the NY State Dental Licensing. I'm giving them till
next Monday nite. Will let you know how it turns out!

How do I UnwINd?

Variety Puzzles "Easy, Fast'n'Fun"
by Dell Magazines which does a lot of
Wordfinds and Crossword Puzzles. These
magazines are infamous @ airports,
newstands, and the lower shelves of
magazine sections at any location that
sells food. I LOVE them. Being bored easily
makes doing these kinds of puzzles even
better because I'm up for the mental
challenge of thinking differenly. I truly
believe your brain is a muscle, the more
you use it. The better it becomes. I love
reading, doing puzzles and recently I'm
trying a new kind of drawing activity as
you can see below. I have 2 copy the
small squares onto the lower grid by their
assignment. B-2, D-8... Its kinda cool.
Back at MSSD we had to do a self-
portrait in which the art teacher who's
name escapes me as I'm tired tonite.
Nyhoo, she xeroxed photos of us, added
a grid and then we had to copy from that
onto a larger canvas and paint our portrait.
Its probably buried in the garage at Baba's?
Or it got thrown out? Dunno. But
anyways, it came out pretty good. I
learned about my features such as I have
"bedroom" eyes, heavy upper eye lids.
And the area between the nose and upper
lip is kinda long on my face. If you look
at that space in people's faces, like any-
thing else, it varies. Nyhoo, I think so far
the picture will be a moose or moooses
in a sceneic background, will take more
pics as my progress, er prowness continues...

The last picture was a beautiful sunset
that I saw on the way to Szymanski's
birthday party last Saturday. Just beautiful!

"Fame! I'm gonna live forever...

I'm gonna learn how to fly, High!
I feel it coming together,
People will see me and cry, Fame!
I'm gonna make it to heaven,
Light up the sky like a flame, Fame!
I'm gonna live forver, Fame!
Baby, remember my name
Remember, remember, remember,
Remember, remember, remeber
Fame!"

Wearing leg warmers today with my skirt.
Gawd, its been 20 plus years since I've
worn them but now that the 80s are back
I can get away with anything! Plus they
really do keep me warm!

Headed to NJ now. This past weekend we
celebrated Szymanski's 30th bday, got to
see Peep! She looked amazing! Plus it was
a fun party.

Blue Blood

This is somekind of film being shot outside
where I live. I think its about the cast
from "I Love Lucy"?

Plus I brought this wine, "Sweet Bitch"
Will let you know if the name matches
the taste?

Lastly BF finally caved in and saw how
miserable I've been with being caught in
the middle. Only time will tell if anything
changes?

Getting old

The conflict between a friend of mine
and my bf is getting old quite fast.
I'm tired of being in the middle.

Plus I emailed the dentist requesting a
refund for a poor job done during my
dental exam. Its surprising because he did
a great job with my veneers. How disappointing!

My jobs are going well. I put in and got
approved for an LOA till next summer
for one of my jobs.

My spirits are low this week. I'm tired of
the tension between my bf and my friend
who's like a sister to me. I've gone out of
my way to keep them separated but what
really gets me is how my bf cannot find it
in himself to forgive her for past mistakes
and try to find a way to appreciate her as
a person. He focuses so much on their
differences rather than looking for their
similarities. And I'm so sick of being in the
middle of the two!

DST. No not the "Deaf Standard Time..."

Daylight savings time made my clocks
all wonky! Seems that this year, DST
occurred 3 weeks earlier and now it will
occur 1 week later. A week from Sunday,
November 4th. So meanwhile my VCR/
DVD player and travel alarm on my
SK2 didn't receive the memo and went
ahead and fell back last night. Naughty
appliances, do your homework next
time before assuming!

Watched "28 Weeks Later", the sequel
to "28 Days Later." Pretty good! They
left the ending open to more movies. I
also watched "Serenity" a good sci-fi
movie. What's interesting to me is the
'infected' from the 28 Weeks Later, and
the 'reavers' from Serenity were people
who at one time, fine, normal until they
became "infected" with the rage virus.
Or injected with a serum that was
suppose to eliminate aggression but
unfortunately for 10% of the population
had the opposite affect, RAGE and
became the "reavers!" cannibals, angry,
and nightmarish creatures. Either way,
I got my fixs of scary creatures this past weekend.

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child."
-Shakespeare, King Lear

I truly believe one should acknowledge
and express gratitude to those around
themselves. I have no real idea how hard
it must be to raise kids. I've worked
with kids now, going on 4 years this Spring.
Its given me insights to child rearing but
at the end of the day. I get into my car
or in this case, board the train. I am free
of responsibility of others. Don't get me
wrong I think about the kids during my off
time but I can also divert my attention
primarily to my needs. I'm still on the
fence with the whole idea of being a parent
;) am I too selfish?

Feeling Cute Today

Its beautiful outside, everyone is up and about. And I feel cute today with my pink sunglasses, pink t-shirt, silver headband, jeans and black flipflops. Its hard to believe Halloween is right around the corner.

This same beautiful weather sent my sinuses for a loop. Thurs nite I had a small headache with some head ringing, its hard to explain, makes everything pulsulates or ring outwards. I couldn't turn my head without being dizzy. I didn't go to work on Friday. I figured best to sleep off
whatever sinus related attack this is? Jack stopped by to check up on me. He remarked that night before I went to bed that my face was deadpan. Meaning NO facial expressions whatsoever. I guess when I'm not well my ability to clearly communicate is at a minimal.

I didn't go to my pt job yesterday (Saturday either). Just not able to focus clearly enough to teach for 2 hrs straight. I did some light cleaning, and napping yesterday BUTT today I don't care if my head is ringing or not. I've taken some Benadryll and am out on my beloved 125th
street where I weekly ride the BX15 bus up and down to run errands. On my 2 do list today is hit Drug Reade (which is signed, "reading" along your arm vein where your elbow meets. And yes I know its actually called Duanne Reade but in 'Jenny Speak' as Jack calls it Drug Reade is more fitting)

Mr. Lee the Cat

There's this cool website called Mr. Lee Cat-Cam where the owner posts photos taken at assigned random times throughout the day. The cat, Mr. Lee wears the webcam on his collar and goes out and about. FASCINATING! I love it!

Oops here are the photos

Lately I haven't had time to think, yet
alone blog! Right now am on the NJ
transit, headed back to NYC (Penn
Station). I plan to swing by K-mart to
buy a slip for under my dresses. Yeah I've
been buying a few dresses for teaching
purposes here and there. Then a quick nap
before going to my 2nd job.

Life other than being super busy and tired
a lot is good. Jack and I have become so
much more affectionate lately. We also
laugh and tease a lot. This I can deafinitely
get used to. He seems to know how to
handle my moods now. I think he realizes
when I'm upset and talk about it. It
doesn't mean I'm upset with him but the
situation in which I'm referring to. Now,
he just gives me this crazy smile and kisses
me when I'm being stubborn or bitchy.

Tmw for my student teaching, I have to
have a video recorded of one of my
classes. I'm a little nervous but only Rusty
will see it and give me much needed feedback.

Last weekend on Saturday after I finished
work, I went with Szymanski to her new
apt in RidgeWood, Queens (its actually
borders both Queens and Brooklyn). Cute neighborhood! And her new apt is
so spac-
ious! She even has a backyard with a patio!
We went to buy some food that evening
and on our way back, I snapped some
pictures of Halloween decorations seen
in her neighborhood. Deafinitely puts me
in the mood for Halloween! I have no idea
if I will dress up this year and if so what
I will be? SIDC (Staten Island Deaf Club)
is hosting a Halloween Party on the 28th
of this month. Mebbe I'll go?

School 1977 vs 2007

(Thanks to Knob who fwd this to me)

SCHOOL 1977 vs 2007

Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before
school, pulls into school parking lot
with shotgun in gun rack. (Not my Jack!
He knows I would freak if he was a
HUNTer!- we re city folks and we're ok
with that)

1977 - Vice Principal comes over, looks
at Jack's shotgun, goes to his
car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2007 - School goes into lock down, FBI
called, Jack hauled off to jail and never
sees his truck or gun again. Counselors
called in for traumatized students and
teachers.

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fist-
fight after school.

1977 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny
and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 - Police called, SWAT team arrives,
arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them
with assault, both expelled even though
Johnny started it.

Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class,
disrupts other students.

1977 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a
good paddling by the Principal. Returns to
class, sits still and does not disrupt class
again.
2007 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin.
Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD.
School gets extra money from state
because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his
neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a
whipping with his belt.

1977 - Billy is more careful next time,
grows up normal, goes to college, and
becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child
abuse. Billy removed to foster care and
joins a gang. State psychologist tells
Billy's sister that she remembers being
abused herself and their Dad goes to prison.
Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.

Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes
some aspirin to school.

1977 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out
on the smoking dock.
2007 - Police called, Mark expelled from
school for drug violations. Car searched
for drugs and weapons.

Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.

1977 - Pedro goes to summer school,
passes English, goes to college.
2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear
nationally
explaining that teaching English as a
requirement for graduation is racist.
ACLU files class action lawsuit against
state school system and Pedro's English
teacher. English banned from core
curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway
but ends up mowing lawns for a
living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover
firecrackers from 4th of July, puts
them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows
up a red ant bed.

1977 - Ants die.
2007 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI
called. Johnny charged with domestic
terrorism, FBI investigates parents,
siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on
a
terror watch list and is never allowed
to fly again.

Scenario: Johnny falls while running dur-
ing recess and scrapes his knee. He is
found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary
hugs him to comfort him.

1977 - In a short time, Johnny feels
better and goes on playing.
2007 - Mary is accused of being a
sexual predator and loses her job. She
faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny
undergoes 5 years of therapy.

Staying the course

Saw this line off of the ER episode
tonight and it was so good that I
had to quote it.

"Sometimes you have to do things you
don't want to. So you can get what you
want in the end."

Preserverence, onward and upward!

Anyhoo being a sucker for good quotes,
I copied some below from the internet.
Its suppose 2 help me relaxs enough
to go to sleep. So far it hasn't worked ;)

"The first and best victory is to
conquer self"
-Plato

"Its not the work that's hard, its the
discipline."
-Anonymus

"Before god, we are all equally wise -
and equally foolish"
-Albert Einstein

"I not only use all the brains I have,
but all that I can borrow"
-Woodrow Wilson

"Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses."
-Confucuis

"There is no security on this earth, there
is only opportunity."
-General Douglas MacArthur

"The optimist proclaims we live in the
best of all possible worlds; and the
pessimist fears this is true."
-James Branch Cabell

"Never discourage anyone... who con-
tinually makes progress, no matter how
slow"
-Plato

"Reality is something you rise above."
-Liza Minnelli

"Sanity calms, but madness is more
interesting"
-John Russell

"When a man tells you he got rich through
hard work, ask him: 'Whose?'"
-Don Marquis

*Imitates Forrest Gump with an
underlying deaf voice* "That's all
I have to say about that."

Deaf Lawyer Video

*warning, content is silly & humorous-looking for serious videos, then look elsewhere*

Deaf Lawyer

this one is also funny, I got this in an email earlier today :)

Seagull

A seagull in Scotland has developed the habit of stealing chips from a neighborhood shop.

The seagull waits until the shopkeeper isn't looking, and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos.

Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and shared by other birds.

The seagull's shoplifting started early this month when he first swooped into the store in Aberdeen, Scotland, and helped himself to a bag of chips. Since then, he's become a regular. He always takes the same type of chips.

Customers have begun paying for the seagull's stolen bags of chips because they think it's so funny.

Mean version of "Jo"

Do any of you remember the 70s/80s
tv show "Facts of Life?" with Tootie, Blair, Natalie and Jo (Nancy McKeon)? Well last night I was watching the reality show "The Biggest Loser." There are 3 teams (red, blue & black). On each team there is an assigned
trainer. On the black team the woman who trains the group looks like Jo (Jillian Michaels) from the "Facts of Life." Only she's meaner and tougher!

Last night there was a hate crime at TC
where I work. Someone left a rope noose
swinging in front of a professor's door
who happens to be African American/Black
and teaches on racial injustices and
inequalities! This is SO messed up. 1st
there was the incident at MSSD last week,
now TC. Seems racism and racist attitudes
truly carried over into the 21st Century!
When we will LEARN? That underneath it
all, we all bleed, is someone's daughter or
son, deserve to have the basic necessities
etc etc.. That there is no "Whites Only"
tree (Jena 6). The skins ability to produce
pigmentation which deals with the persons
skin color is superficial. Its not unlike a
persons eye color, or hair color. Research
has shown that people from the same
racial background are NOT more likely to
share the same genes. As a matter of
fact it is more likely to cross racial lines
because when it comes to our genes, our
skin color is not a MAJOR characteristic of
our genetic makeup! Racial colors only
"skin deep" as I like to say.

Well its a dreary morning, rain rain go
away, come back a later day!

Bummed over shoes

Giant Rats in NYC, not an "uban legend"
Snapped this on the bus one morning last
week. Seems to fit this posting.

*deaf voice* Grr!!!
!@%$#%@

After internship ended today ran
some errands uptown. I found 3 pairs
of shoes (all on sale!) 2 for work, 1 for
fun. And guess where I'm at now? Home
at my apt. Guess where the shoes are?
Riding the 1 train to the Ferry probably!
Argh I couldn't believe I LEFT the bag
on the train. Damn these things tend to
happen to me when I'm tired. I get easily
distracted as it is with the ADD. Lucky
for me (yep gotta look on the bright side)
it was $26 in total I spent. I'm not happy
because I might as well have thrown the
cash up in the air and watch NYers
scrambled and fight over the bills. At
least it wouldve been more entertaining
then a disappointment.

Man am I glad I gave up working at my
2nd jobs on the days I student teach. I
do better with a nap in between jobs like
Mons/Weds.

I just found out I have to do my
presentation this Thurs for Rusty class.
Ay yi yi! Will try to prepare during my
free time over the next 2 days. If I'm not
ready, I will ask for an extension. For
some reason I thought he was teaching this Thursday but I was wrong.
Plus it was
suppose to be 1 student's presentation per
class, but now, its going to be two per
class. So I ended up going from 2nd to 1st.

Oh good, "Kids" version of Jeopardy is on.
*PAH!* I can feel smart ;-)

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever."
- Mahatma Gandhi

Hmm, what would you do?

If you were a parent to a 15 year old girl who happened to have severe disabilities (what kind of disability isnt made clear) and she has a mind of a young child (again, no real information on her comprehension abilities) but the question is. If your child was soon at an age or already at an age of menstruation should the parent have the right to allow doctors to remove all of the child's reproductive system? To avoid the monthly menstruation, mood swings, cramping and so on? I read this article and I really was stumped (no pun intended) on how I would decide if I were in this particular predicament. I mean if the person in question would never understand menstruation or know how to get preggars or raise children themselves then part of me leans towards the mother's side in this situation. But I can also understand the activist but I think theres a fine line between a person who is disabled physically and a person who is disabled mentally. I don't know the answer and I hope I never have to face this kind of decision in the future.
this is a great pix of my sweets working on his car from a few weeks ago. Theres something so sexy about that!


Yesterday Jack and I watched "GOR" which we havent finished but definitely a B Movie. Whats so interesting about GOR is a fantasy series written by John Norman hints at BDSM before it was widely known or popular. The world of Gor is very male-dominated with the women being slaves. There's also a lot of reference to sadistic behaviors as well (the enjoyment of inflicting pain.) While I ofc do not advocate the idea of living in this kind of world and probably would be frowned upon by hardcore feminist, it is an interesting story line.

Speaking of S&M, my mother told me this joke soon after my ex broke up with me 5 years ago. The joke goes like this

What did the masochist say to the sadist?
"hit me, hit me!" and the sadist said "no."

I have to admit there were times I seem to thrive on misery. Mom called it right. I truly do feel things deeply.

Friday night Szymanski and I watched Napoleon Dynamite. God the movie gets better and better with each viewing. I really want the soundtrack CD for my collection.


Yesterday Jack and I took apart the futon frame, after 3 years and 4 moves, it was kaput. It was messing up my back so now
that the futon mattress is on the floor, I can sleep without walking around like an old man the next day. I dont know whether to bother to replace it with a real bed and frame or just sleep with it on the floor?

Today & Tomorrow

The 1st image is of a guy who often rides the 1 train. Randomly drawing
various riders. He doesn't charge anyone and its not clear to me if he's
homeless or just very eccentric? He's already done my portriat about a
year ago. I actually rode the train a few extra stops just so he could
finish. And gave him 5 bucks. So if he hasn't drawn you yet, then truly
you cannot call yourself a NYer.

The 2nd picture is the 1 train coming towards me headed downtown, so I
can go to 96th st, change to the 2/3 and get off at Penn Station. This
shot is facing North.

The 3rd picture is of the sky, with the sun trying to peek thru. It
looks like rain today?

4th picture is a shot of the train tracks headed downtown. This shot is
facing South.

Today is my students 3rd Unit Test! They're doing really well. Last
wednesday I gave them a short quiz on Fingerspelling/Vocab review. I am
proud of them because I fingerspell at a normal pace, not that
painstaking slow bit that most new signers prefer.

This past weekend, I didn't achieve a whole lot but I did get to sleep a
lot and EAT a lot. Better keep that in check. Stress, lack of sleep and
overeating not a good idea ;)