Happy New Year December 31, 2004 ~ 1:21 pm
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“But I burn, Mr. A!” “So do I, Mr. J!” - Independence Hall, Philadelphia City
Points for anyone who can guess the source of the quote (and location name) above.
Jordana and I were both off work yesterday, which is so rare that it’s like a miracle (not that I was off work, that we both had the same day off), so of course we had to get together. J called me in the morning and we decided to go to the Whitney Art Museum to see the Romare Bearden exhibit. Bearden is known for his collages, which are amazing and depict everything from life in Harlem to the Odyssey. Some of my favorites were of the “Conjur Woman,” who was kind of like a witch doctor/healer in Southern black communities. Every time I looked at her in the various paintings, collages, prints, etc., I could see an aspect of a Wiccan priestess and even the Goddess pagans like me worship, which was wonderful. But I think my favorite part of the whole experience was when we were waiting in line to get in, and two people coming out handed us their admission stickers. We slapped them on our chests and voila! didn’t have to pay the admission fee. The museums up here charge a fair amount to get in, so this was an awesome gift from the Gods. 
After the Whitney, we hiked across Central Park to the West Side to go to The Yarn Co., which is NYC’s flagship knitting store. It was wonderful - a relatively small store (about 20′x20′) stuffed with every kind of yarn imaginable, needles, buttons, etc. I felt like I was in a candy store, seriously. We walked all around touching the various kinds of yarns, and when I told the salesperson I was a new knitter, she said “Okay, well, what do you want to make? Pick out a yarn that you like, and I’ll tell you what size needles you need and how much yarn you need.” I got some nice worsted for a scarf for Rick (he’s been bugging me to make him something ever since I started learning), some new 10 1/2 needles for the yarn we have at his apartment (left over from the Youngest’s summer craft projects), and The Yarn Girls’ Guide to Simple Knits, written by the owners of the store, whose names are (get this) Julie and Jordana! We met them both, and they seemed really nice. I was told if I have any problems with what I’m knitting to stop in and they’ll help me figure it out, and now my friend Jordana wants to learn to knit as well. I’m going to have a knitting buddy!
After that, a huge pasta dinner at Westside Brewing Co. (seriously, we didn’t know the bowls would be that big) with some lovely Pear Cider, and then down to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get some crap to organize my front closet. We ended up the evening at the movies with Rick, seeing The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons. A good film, and it really picked up why Shylock is the way he is, and let you feel sympathy for him at the end of the courtroom scene. But I realized that the film/play has two endings: the courtroom scene and then the interplay between the couples about the rings. I hadn’t read this play since high school, and had forgotten about that. It’s almost as if Shakespeare wrote a tragedy and then changed his mind, giving it a comedic ending instead. Normally his subplots aren’t at such opposition to each other, but this one really stood out to me. I’m going to have to read the play again now…
I think that’s it for today. Rick and I haven’t decided whether we’re going to a party tonight or just staying home together, but either way, I’ll probably be away from the computer till late tomorrow. Happy New Year, all. May it be more peaceful than the last, and joyous for all of you.
The one about Christmas December 29, 2004 ~ 11:08 am
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Music Pavilion ceiling, Prospect Park, Brooklyn
It’s occurred to me that with all the griping about the flu, I didn’t mention how good Santa and my family and friends were to me this year. So I’m going to resolve this so you see how lucky I was this year (and so Mom can stop thinking her daughter is truly ungrateful because I bitch about the flu instead of giving her props). So, in no particular order, cool things I got for Christmas (some of this is interactive - click on the links to see them):
Toaster oven - shut up, I wanted this. It’s a big-ass toaster oven, too, big enough to cook a pizza! See, my apartment doesn’t have an oven (landlords either have to have a stove/oven or a rangetop and microwave installed, and mine went for the latter option), so I’ve missed out on cookies and stuff. According to the toaster oven, I can broil meat in it as well as bake and toast. Woohoo! Thanks, Mommy.
Photo printer - An Epson R300. Mom got me this, too, so now I can print out all the photos I take. I can also print documents, which is great, because my last printer is 6 years old. It doesn’t even use USB cables, it still uses those giant cables with all the little pins in them (and yes, I know that’s not what they’re called, but you know what I mean). That meant I couldn’t print from my Mac, which was a huge pain in the ass. Problem resolved. And check it out, it’s got a little viewscreen so I can plug in the camera or card and see the picture on the printer! I don’t even have to have the damn thing plugged into a computer for it to work!
Necklace - a pretty beaded topaz necklace with little charms on it that my wonderful boyfriend got me and hand delivered on Christmas, risking the flu to do so. Oh, wait, I just said flu again. Fuck.
Live Aid DVD - I’ve always wanted to see Queen’s performance in full, and now I can. This rocks. Rick got this for me, too. Because I told him a list of things I wanted, and he picked this. Actually, a necklace was on the list, too. I’ve learned from experience: tell the boy what you want, or bad things happen. Men don’t seem to be as intuitive as women are when it comes to picking out gifts.
Pentacle clock - My friend Leenie sent me this. It came with free Yule cone incense, which rocked. The clock is pretty damn cool, too.
Strawberry Daiquiri body wash, Pina Colada body lotion - from the Oldest. She knows I like the alcohol. Even in the bath.
Ceramic Baby Hippo - handmade by the Youngest. I have to take a picture of this for you - it’s awesome. And she made me laugh when she told me a while ago that she made me something for my birthday (it’s been on display at school since), and when I told her she didn’t have to get me a birthday present, she replied “Well, I’ve already made a lot of stuff for mom and dad.” Totally disingenuous, the Youngest.
Beer Cookbook - Mom got this for Rick and me because we drink beer. A lot of it. And we might as well cook with it.
Blue Maui - mmmm…blue raspberry schnapps. Mixed with 7Up, this becomes “Smurf’s Up” or “Smurf Piss,” which is really just alcoholic kool-aid. Two bottles came my way!!
Chocolate Covered Pretzels - okay, not a big deal for the rest of you, but a taste of home for me. Mom got me Rosalind’s Candy Castle pretzels (I grew up right up the hill from Rosalind’s) and Sarris’s. Yeah, now the rest of you from Pittsburgh are jealous. Mmmmm….Sarris’s.
There was more, but then I’d just be bragging.
Food or Not Food December 28, 2004 ~ 2:37 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed(Check out the picture of the Scrapple in the previous post - you decide)
I posted a comment about this on Michael’s blog, but it was too funny not to share with the rest of you. I got the Oldest “The Urbz” for her Gameboy this Christmas. The game is living at Rick’s, and since the kids weren’t around this weekend, I was playing it. (For those of you not familiar with the game, it’s a takeoff of the very popular Sims game, and this time your Sim lives in the city. Making it an Urb.)
One of the things your character can do is take classes at Sim college, which involve quizzes on various subjects. To earn a point in cooking, I was taking a quiz entitled “Food or Not Food” where a word would flash on the screen and I had to press the A button if it was Food, or the B button if it was Not Food. The following words flashed on the screen:
“Macaroni”
“Meatloaf”
“Wood”
Easy and boring so far. Then this flashed:
“Monkey”
I giggled, and pressed B for Not Food, although I don’t think they take into account that Monkeys can be food, say if you’re on Survivor or Fear Factor. However, the category wasn’t “Edible or Not Edible,” was it? And then the queen mother flashed on the screen:
“Grandpa”
I almost pissed myself laughing, and was unable to finish the quiz. There’s a time limit to decide if Grandpa is food, after all.
Why I Love Brian May December 28, 2004 ~ 1:14 pm
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Mmmmmm….scrapple. *gag*
I’ve been feeling a little off-kilter the past week, between the flu, sharing my apartment for a week, not seeing Rick as much as I usually do, not going in to work - the whole disruption of my routine in general. I’m down for a few hours, then back up, and who the hell knows what will follow. In the midst of this, I found this message on Brian May’s blog:
“As we start growing up (I only just started !) Christmas brings us lots of thoughts and feelings which are nothing to do with Good Cheer.
Thoughts of loss, loneliness, not belonging, inadequacy, sadness, listlessness ….. am I right ??? and we feel guilty because we’re SUPPOSED to feel jolly.
Well, just know that you’re not alone. …. these feelings are well-known to me ….. in amongst all the thoughts of how thankful and grateful I am that my nearest and dearest are healthy and doing well, my heart reaches out for those faces we can no longer see, and for those who are missing their loved ones.
Special love for all of you ….. just remember these feelings are NORMAL, and NATURAL ….. and when Christmas is stowed away and the decorations are down …. we will get back to our usual state of equilibrium. We will work, achieve, do good, live life, and move on. But for now, in this limbo period between Christmas and New Year, when the whole world seems to just wait …. find a good book to read, and HANG IN !!!”
This man constantly amazes me - he knows what it’s like to be down, he doesn’t preach about it, he just accepts that it is and urges those of us who go the rounds with the blues to keep going. This is a lot rarer than you might think - I can’t tell you how many people have told me to “cheer up” when it isn’t always possible. So, although he doesn’t even know this blog exists, THANK YOU, BRIAN!
I’m going to go check out some of the books and movies you all recommended and hang in…
Thank you December 27, 2004 ~ 10:12 pm
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Clean Rite. Where I was Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Thank you, cat.
First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has sent me a card or popped by in the last few days with holiday greetings. You all rock.
I’m recovering, Mom’s recovering, cats are recovering, and kids are recovering. Well, the Oldest is. The Youngest never got the flu, for which I’m glad. It’s looking like Rick’s been able to fight it off as well, another Christmas blessing. This flu is nasty. If you get it, I feel for you, because it just sticks around. Three days later, I still have spells of dizzyness and nausea. But seriously, it’s getting better. I escaped to Rick’s yesterday and didn’t come back until about an hour ago. Mostly because if I had to stare at the walls of my apartment for five more minutes, someone would have died. And while I was gone, the cat only puked once, not on my bed this time!! Considering he nailed the bed Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday afternoon, and again Friday night when the freshly laundered linens hadn’t even been on the bed five minutes, this was a huge accomplishment. Of course, me putting a massive sheet of plastic over the bed before I left might have helped. What can I say, I’m tired of the laundromat.
I have managed to get out and see two movies despite the plague that hit Brooklyn. Ocean’s Twelve was funny, damn near as good as Ocean’s Eleven. If you didn’t see Ocean’s Eleven, you might be a little confused, but on the whole it was coherent, and Julia Roberts was fantastic. Today, Rick and I went to see The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, one of the most bizarre movies I’ve ever seen. Bill Murray is hysterical, and the stuff going on in the background was great, but Rick and I still aren’t sure what the hell it was about. At times I was bored out of my mind, at others, laughing my ass off. Make of that what you will and see it at your own risk. I will, however, give props to the crewman who plays David Bowie’s greatest hits in the background for much of the film and sings them in Pourtugese. Good on you, Pele, for making me laugh.
Now I’m going to sit and watch the rest of the Pilly/St. Louis game to see how the Eagles do without Terrell Owens (*snort*), and mentally prepare myself to go to work tomorrow. Pleh. Night, all.
Merry Christmas to me. December 24, 2004 ~ 1:26 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedWell, Mom had the flu, the cats had the flu, and yesterday morning bright and early, I got the flu. To give you waaaay too much information, I spent most of four hours in the bathroom and threw my back out puking. That’s the worst I’ve felt in at least two years. I’m thanking President Bush for this one. Him and his shortage of flu shots that is now not a shortage. To thank him fully, I would like to go to the White House and give him a big Christmas hug and kiss. But I bet he’s had a flu shot, so it wouldn’t affect him. Asshat.
On the good side, while very weak, I’m mobile now. I’ve actually had some applesauce today, and am out of bed. To sprawl in front of TV and watch bad cable. And later, I will watch “Love Actually” and “A Christmas Story”. Because it’s Christmas Eve, dammit.
Merry Christmas to all of you. May it be fun-filled and puke-free.
You’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Answers. December 22, 2004 ~ 11:58 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedHere they are, kids, the answers to your questions. In between cleaning up cat puke from three separate cats (I’ve already told my mom to leave the cat flu at home the next time she comes), I wrote these answers. Sorry for typos…you try cleaning up after the cat flu.
Aimee asked:
1. Have you ever lived anywhere besides New York?
Yep. I spent the first few years of my life in West Virginia, then moved to Beaver County, PA (North of Pittsburgh, near E-Lo’s home turf), and spent my college years in Meadville, PA (just south of Erie). I moved to New York after college graduation.
2. What’s your dream vacation?
Tough to say…I went to London when I was 11 and I’ve always wanted to go back, with a side trip to Ireland to see where my mom’s family comes from. And I’ve often thought Australia would be a great vacation. Finally, my friend Jordana keeps telling me I should go with her and her husband to South Africa, where he’s from, and that sounds awesome. So maybe a very long trip incorporating all those places.
3. Do you watch television, and if so, do you have a favorite TV show?
All the time…I often have the TV on for background noise, since I live by myself. Shows that I make a point of not missing are Rescue Me (mmmm….Denis Leary) and The Apprentice. And whenever there’s a rerun of M*A*S*H*, I’ll watch that, even though I think I’ve seen every episode five million times.
Tig asked:
1.What do you think is your best quality?
My sense of humor. Even if no one else is amused, I am, and it makes time go faster!
2. You best idea for a night out with your significant other?
I think I’ve had it. This summer, we went camping for Rick’s birthday by a lake upstate. We put the kids to bed, and then hung out by the fire for a few hours, talking. After that, we wandered down to the lake, found an active little next of baby catfish, watched the stars, then went to bed…with everything that entails. It was a good night, especially since I don’t often get out of the city.
3. Are you a Morning, afternoon or evening Person?
Hmmm…this is changing, because during college and my early 20s, I was a big fan of staying up all night – I only ever saw the dawn as I was going to bed, not waking up. Now I have problems staying up that late (stooped day job!), so I think I’m more of an afternoon person. I’m very productive then.
Esther asked:
1) Would you have chosen a different career?
Than what my day job is (Assistant Registrar)? Yes. I mean, who wakes up and says “I want to be a Registrarâ€? I’d like to change that job, possibly go into editing or writing, if I could make a living at it. But the dramaturgy bit…no way, I like that too much. I love being able to say “This play has changed so much since we started working on it, and I’m part of the reason that it did!â€
2) Any personal traits that other people might think is strange/out of the ordinary?
Ah, my sense of humor again…it’s a bit offbeat. Very sarcastic, dark, wry. Other than that, only my extra bellybutton. Kidding…
3) frilly or classic?
Classic. I have never in my life gone for “frillyâ€. In anything. I’m just not a girly-girl.
Rhonda Elizabeth asked:
1. Would you ever change your first name?
When I was a kid, I hated my name. I thought it was the most awful name ever. Then my mom told me my father wanted to name me Vicky. Not Victoria, Vicky. After that, Julie didn’t seem so bad. Although when I write, the only part of Julie I use as part of my penname is “Jâ€.
2. Why do you blog?
I started out writing to tell the things that made me laugh. Stupid things that occurred to me that none of my friends were around to hear. I still do those kinds of posts. However, in the past year I’ve become a lot more politically aware and occasionally post my opinions on happenings in the world. And I’ve started liking telling stories about my own stupidity to make others laugh. I look at blogging now as stand-up. Make people laugh, maybe make people think a little.
3. What is your most treasured possession and why?
Oh, this is hard. I’ve got a lot of things, but most of them could be replaced if they had to be. I’ll go for the sappy answer and say all the cards that Rick has gotten me since we started dating. He only gets them for birthdays, and Valentine’s Day and such, so there aren’t many, but they were the first glimpse I got of how he felt about me. He lets himself write more than he says.
Dave asked:
1. knowing that of the 10 most poisonous snakes in the world, we have about 10 of them (no, it’s more like 7), and we also have really, really big spiders…would you ever consider holidaying in Australia?
See my answer above to Aimee. But if I saw one of those Huntsman spiders, I’d be making serious tracks!!!
2. what does yellow sound like?
Warm, cheerful, occasionally obnoxious. That’s sunshine yellow. The answer changes for lemon yellow or baby-shite yellow, of course.
3. is there a question you’ve always wanted someone to ask you, and what would your response to that question be?
“What is your favorite swear word?†just like on Inside the Actor’s Studio. And my answer would be “Fuck and all derivations of that word.†Because I can’t pick just one.
Pup (Mr. Gulia) asked:
1. If you had 3 wishes, what would they be?
a.) Money enough to pay off all my debt, as well as that of all my friends and family members.
b.) A nice townhouse in Brooklyn Heights, on the Promenade so I could see lower Manhattan, but with a nice backyard that I could escape to when I was tired of city life.
c.) A job that pays me to write and be a dramaturg.
2. What’s your most sexy piece of clothing?
Do handcuffs count? 
No, seriously, I have a low-cut green halter top that says “M*A*S*H 4077th†in red glitter. I got it the night I pierced my bellybutton and I love it. Hardly ever wear it, but love it.
3. Why are there voices all around me?
Because they love you? Hey, you’re the one who has all the talking monkey dolls in your office, why would you get them if you didn’t want them to talk to you?
E-Lo asked:
1. What’s your favorite place in NYC?
Coney Island when I want to be surrounded by a crowd, a small section of Strawberry Fields in Central Park when I don’t.
2. What do you remember most about being a little kid?
Getting picked on for my hair color, because it happened all the time. Other than that, one of my most vivid memories is the time that I asked my mother who Kierkegaard was. I heard the name on TV and loved the way it rolled around in my mouth. I think she told me “You don’t need to worry about that right now.†I must have been about 7.
3. What should I buy my hippie brother and his girlfriend for Christmas?
A bong, man, what else? Except don’t by it from Tommy Chong, the Feds are watching him! Or as they say in Harlem, “Police is watchingâ€!
Celti asked:
Were you raised Pagan or did you convert at some point?
I converted this time 2 years ago when my friend Kim said “Hey, you have got to read this book! All the questions we had with organized religion, Wicca addresses!†The book was Wicca: The Complete Craft by D.J. Conway. I’m still finding my own way.
What are your hobbies?
At the moment, reading, blogging, knitting, music, and computer games.
What does the design of your tattoo mean to you and when did you get it?
It’s the cover art from two Def Leppard albums (Slang and Hysteria) that I combined to form my own design. I had a dream while I was still thinking about getting it where I was talking to Joe Elliott (the lead singer of Def Lep), and he said, “You’ll have time to settle when you get old. Now’s the time to excel.†Every now and then that dream comes back to me and spurs me on. I got the tattoo on my 22nd birthday.
Happy Yule!! December 21, 2004 ~ 11:31 am
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Prospect Park, Brooklyn
I have no festive Yule pictures for you all, because it took a visit to Traci’s blog to remind me it was Yule! Shame on me, but really, I had a good reason. Mom got in last night at 10:30 with the tail end of what we think was food poisoning - she’d been sick since the middle of Pennsylvania, but toughed it out for the rest of the drive. What normally is a 7 hour trip yesterday was 10 1/2 hours! But she made it and is recuperating at my place while I put in a half day at work.
So, anyway, Happy Yule (or Winter Solstice, if you prefer). This is one of my favorite Pagan holidays because I know that the days start getting longer now - daylight is returning to the land, finally. Today we will be in darkness in the Northern Hemisphere for a little over 15 hours. And then it gets better. The daylight stays with us a little longer every day, and soon I won’t have to leave work in the pitch black. Woohoo!!! (You don’t know cold until you are waiting for a bus in the cold, wind, snow, rain, and dark.) If that’s not something to celebrate, I don’t know what the heck is.
“Police is Watching” December 20, 2004 ~ 3:32 pm
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Sign in the lobby of an apartment building, Harlem, NYC.
I went to a party in Harlem this weekend (116th and St. Nicholas, fittingly enough for the season) and snapped the picture above with my phone.
Going along with that slice of “I got me some good English learnin’,” I received an email request from a student today. This is what it says:
“H [insert Julie's last name here],
I’m writing to request that my diploma be shipped to my new mailing address asap. Rock on.”
I don’t know, but when I was a student, I don’t think I would have sent out an email to a faculty member that addressed them by their last name and closed with “Rock on”. But maybe that’s just me. Maybe this student thinks we’re homeys. Maybe he will invite me to his graduation party. I’ve had that happen before. Students get weird sometimes. They turn into stalkers. Rock on, stalkers.
And finally, in the “Her father’s son” category, Rick sent the Youngest to get him a beer out of the fridge Saturday while we were watching the Steelers game. She did, and then disappeared into the other room to watch cartoons. At halftime, while we were clearing the lunch carnage, we looked in the fridge to see if we needed more beer. Sitting there as if it belonged, was the empty plastic 6-pack holder from the beer. I repeat, it was empty. Sans beer. I looked at Rick and said “Damn, that was a manly thing for a 9 year old girl to do. She’s definitely your daughter.” He laughed and said “Yeah, I’m gonna have to talk to her about that.”
Questions and recommendations for Friday’s post are still being accepted. Probably till tomorrow afternoon. Ask ‘em if you got ‘em. If you don’t, well…police is watching.
Ask and I shall answer. December 17, 2004 ~ 3:59 pm
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The best picture I’ve ever taken. My man and his girls. Coney Island, Memorial Day 2004.
Alright, for all intents and purposes, it’s the weekend, which means I lay off the blogoverse to hang out with Rick and the girls and watch my Steelers kick more ass. In my absence, I leave you with this meme, which I stole from waaaaayyyy too many places to count. I think I saw it on Aimee’s site first, but Celti, Esther, and Cooter Ang also had it (and probably more of you that I’m missing).
(A) First, recommend to me:
1. a movie
2. a book
3. a musical artist, song, or album
(B) Ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want. Answers will be posted next week–great time for strangers to say hi.
(C) Then go back to your blog, copy and paste this allowing your friends to ask you anything; say that you borrowed it from me.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
