you can't be neutral on a moving train

i'm kinda bummed to hear about the recent death of Howard Zinn.  Especially after seeing him quite alive and witty not too long ago.  there's something still shocking about people who just randomly die overnight, especially old people who still have all their marbles. It's so weird how your body can just time out.  We've lost some cute little spunky old ladies at my office in the past couple of weeks too, they were pretty amazing people who were lucky enough to peacefully pass in their sleep.  I'll miss Irene the most, she was a little fireball who just wanted to go shopping for loafers and handbags and eat shellfish, not take her insulin cause "screw it the doctor only told me i was diabetic 5 years ago, and dammit i'm not changing my menu after 80-odd years... and complain about her overbearing daughters who wanted her to lay low.  She was all about keepin' it real and real lite.*

i've learned it's okay to care for your clients, although frowned upon by one of my favorite mentors, we are merely beings who survive and thrive by interaction and i don't have a problem lending an ear or sharing kind words for the sake of making a day better or at least make a trip to the doctor less annoying.  and i think people really appreciate that, so i think i'm doing ok. i've obvserved people always appreciate when you remember who they are or when i kinda give them a SantaClaus illusion that i recognize their voice on the phone (those old people haven't heard about caller ID, they are always amazed when i say their name before they do, and then i burst the telepathy bubble because i don't have the heart for them to think i'm really gifted, it ends with laughter - which is the best)

i make an attempt to do something nice just for the sake of it being random and unexpected and hope that it is pleasurable for someone else.  it's always been something that comes easy for me.

* irene liked fashionable bargains, stiff vodka drinks, swears when "no one" was listening, and the challenge of beating death and medical odds for the past few decades. she hated modern medicine and anyone who told her she couldn't do something because of her multiple heart conditions.  She had the best jokes about Parkinson's disease and trying to put on makeup or write checks.  I'll miss those jokes.

-

mlk-day

a million years ago, really almost just a decade ago......way back when i was a wee lass straight outta high school, straight into life, i ended up working/volunteering/learning with this this great non-profit organization in boston. the organization was really more than just looking great on a resume, it was an interesting way to "put idealism to work" - which any veteran would snicker hearing.....a founding motto, but really one of the several positive core concepts promoted by the organization.

i remember being on an organizational committee for the parade for MLK-day. Actually i just remembered that day today, while reading some friend's facebook pages. It was a slushy snowy city day, which as a pedestrian, would be nothing even close to enjoyable.  I can still see the sea of random faces, bright red jackets flooding down columbus ave to tremont street, this one guy kevin and myself making minerature MLK snow sculpture addressing his little slushy supporters, all while helping the procession cross safely across a busy city street to pause at a small memorial for Harriet Tubman.  we held a private celebration local school choirs, mayor menino, the floorlords, and some other local celebs.......one of the moost positive vibes you could imagine.

I wish i made more of an attempt to journal all the great parts of that year, experiences, places traveled to, amazing speakers, amazing people and relationships that were made, having an active voice, learning things about myself and about the city (especially bus routes and where to get  a slice of pizza at any given hour), taking huge risks for the sake of trying something new.  I don't think i've ever learned so much in one year that has made such a huge impact on how i live my life.

who can say that about their first year at college?  for that unorthodox decision i took a lot of crap from a lot of people in my life, like it wasn't something meaningful or reputable.  and really, it was the best last minute juvenile decision i've ever made.*

after working so dedicatedly in an area blatantly neglected in so many ways, it really inspires one to fight for MLK's dream and also be hopeful to inspire others to do the same. it's not about race, it's about helping out to better mankind and respecting others' dreams.

~peace~ slice-o-pie

*concerning education

ps - go to my homegirl's etsy page and check out her mlk goods! 

winter (new list)

Title: What winter means to me

Format: List

Pattern: None

Cultural Significance: Not so much

Winter Means.............

• lots of calls at work about depression, xanax and people who think they have flu and then swine flu
• shoveling
• sleeping soundly with a million pillows and blankets
• wearing knee socks and tights and winter hats!
  
• wearing a million layers
• laundering all those layers of clothes
• shamelessly drinking caffeine and red wine
• jury duty
  
• buying new unmatching bikinis from jcrew clearance sales
• imagining myself tan in those bathing suits as i'm seeing my winter paste in the mirror
  
• a time to fall in/out of love
  
• shoulder pain
• tivo
• cold toilet seats
  
• mid-morning naps
• wet socks
• steam showers
• chapstick
  
• ice/snow storm driving success
• love songs/SAD songs - literally
• impulsive acts of kindness
• general laziness
• soup
  
• fire
  
• salty car
• phone trees

2 H's

i'm going through an alliteration phase. it is fun.

Hematoma Hiney: it's what you get from falling down wood, concrete, and other types of hard stairs. Ask the model of the day, she's a real pro.

*A swift kick in the ass would have same results, as well as being anemic. 

pleasant surprises

i've been attending some random indie showcases up in beantown to support a friend's band and in those attendances i've been wowed by 2 new acts.  maybe in the past several months i saw this one band from philly (actually randomly saw them twice!) so much energy, it's like old school hiphop, funk, rock, & ska had a whole slew of love children to make up this 7-ish-man group. You can't sit still and you can't stop looking around. Swift Technique is their name. I tried listening to some of their studio stuff and it really doesn't come close to their live show, which is superfly.

The other artist i saw was this girl Aly (not really sure if that's her name or not) - I think she usually plays out with her drummer as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, hailing from Portland Maine. Phenomenal. She was the opening act for the cd release show for my friend's band, Ship High in Transit, this past weekend (which was quite the impressive cd-release show).  She did a solo show, primarily with electric guitar, couple songs with an acoustic, this young gal belted notes like she was powered by steam trains, her lyrics were impressively poetic, soul-spilling, honest, blunt, and her tone silenced the crowded venue, giving me goosebumps - partly from the way amazing sounds tend to do and the other part i just found it hauntingly familiar.  (I don't think i've felt like that since before i went through a phase of becoming uncharacteristically lame for a few wasted years, and now finally seeing the "real me" surface for almost 2 years,...... well it's been quite the pleasant little surprise/learning experience these past couple weeks.) - - ending a strange pseudo-disclosing sidenote.

This was one of many great songs i heard this weekend, i saw a bunch of people recording so hopefully there will be some good foootage somewhere in new england soon. Now i have to go get ready for work.

Wake up call

How to properly begin your day: Salutations

"Dr. Mia!  Can anthing be done about this affliction?  It was bad enought that my milkshake had all the boys to the yard - now this blood vessel has got em all over my nuts! Help!!"

my favorite hat: rotting corpse

what's gross?

a lot of things:

this guy george who comes to my office for routine visits often smells of cat urine or human urine or both.  his dandruff is usually peppered onto his clothing. Skin flakes are gross. he pees himself in the waiting room when he's worried he might miss his appointment and not have enough time to go ahead of time.

old wet cigarette smell either on passersby or in my hair leftover from surrounding smokers.

perianal cysts/abcesses (apparently they are the worst smelling cysts ever, any cyst that is puffing out of your buttcrack from colon drip has gotta be rank)

burning flesh

burning hair

cat spray

scabies

My favorite hat? i think it had some sort of chemical reaction to sleep and no showering and then worn outside while i was walking around for hours. it made Val gag last weekend. I was part embarrassed part impressed. it's in the wash; i have faith the wash cycle will get rid of the funk it creates while atop my melon and life will be back to normal. So long smelly head - hello arm&hammer cleanliness. you are welcome to me passing the sniff test with flying colors.

i love my hat and even better - i found a gray one exactly the same a couple weeks ago at H&M. amazing.

new t-shirts?

the new generation of romantic willimantic?

el nuevo año or is it el año nuevo?

I left town for new years, to my other big town that's pretty much my home 1/2 of the time i'm outta town. Oh Boston.

went up to slummerville to catch some z's on the click-clack, which has been my bed countless times since move-in day this past summer. I believe i was blatantly told i need to pay rent. I informed my new "landlord" i can only pay in trader joe's peppermint-o cookies and peachtree schnapps, and that the cookies are only seasonal.  That got me charged $5 extra for a shower. Gotta love friends.

it was a busy couple days of hanging out, eating way too much amazing home-prepared wintry dishes, learning there is a schnapps flavor to match any dish at any meal, and that if you decide to go to out to breakfast in a city on a big touristy holiday weekend, you should probably first call to see if they are open, and then next ask how long the wait might be, and maybe throw in a time check to make sure they will still be open when you get there. just a thought.

it took us 5 hours round trip to eat breakfast, walking the majority of the time. although it may sound annoying, it was really a pretty amazing time. we ended up eating breakfast in cambridge i had this super awesomely bloody smokehouse burger, we all shared fried dill pickles and watched the Boston Bruins play Philly in an outdoors ice rink at Fenway Park!! I want my own ice skates this minute.

I bought a used sandwich book at some cool kid harvard bookstore - snobby cookbooks usually have a lot of fancy pictures, this one has like 6, but makes up for all the recipes with arugula - mmm arugula. i just realized there are 2 autographs from the author inside the book on separate pieces of paper, too bad Mark Twain didn't write this cookbook, i would've fainted! i treated the d-lite-full hosts to some tasty desserts at Block 11 cafe, which was our very last attempt at finding baked goods on new years day.

i'm forgetting a bunch of other things worth sharing. ....

highlights:
1. mark's chili, although still riding the fart train 2 days later - MUY YUM!
2. hockey outdoors is pretty sweet; especially after a dude is sent to the penalty box for fighting and then gave the camera double horns. bad ass!
3. Drink your schnapps at every meal
4. 5-mile city walks
5. no drama