Schiavo is dead!

Thankfully I don't have to hear about this bullshit case anymore. So tired of the TV and newspaper coverage of this damn case. Now her pain is over!

Mini Eggs

Yesterday I bought 40 small bags of Cadbury Mini Eggs.

Yes, I like them that much.

DJ BJ

My nephew sent me his birthday wish list. Mind you his birthday isn't until June. He cracks me up. A true original. He will be 13.

Hello everyone as you all know that its brandon here and I would like to let everyone know what I am asking for my birthday on JUNE 16 and its a gas scooter called a pocket bike it looks like a mini motorcycle, my dad BEN knows what it looks like, its safe because it has head and tail lights for the night and has a horn, WHERE AM I GOING TO RIDE it? Around my complex or block.YES I have drown one before because my all my friends have one.they are so much fun,so I am asking everyone to please copperate and put money together to purchase this. Omi please forward this to fred Simone please show matthew or david this. SO PLEASE EVERYONE communicate and try to get me this.THIS IS ALL I want for my birthday so please!!!

Thanks for thaking the time to read this long email for any QUESTIONS call me @
my cell or send me An email.

Thanks love you all xoxoxoxo

Moon

Oh, and I added the phases of the moon on my sidebar. Just in case anyone is a werewolf and needs to plan out their days, or nights rather.

Monday blues

Once again I say it-I hate Mondays. They suck. Or rather, work sucks. Oh how I hate to work. Maybe one day I will be able to just not do it. We'll see. We'll see...

It seems with every change of season I get antsy and wish I worked or did something else. Oh well. I'm listening to old Depeche Mode. Oh how nice the good ol' non working days were.

Here's my wknd in case anyone's interested. I just copied and pasted from my email to Eugene this morning so excuse any errors-not in the mood to retype it all pretty and shit:

Saw Nomadic museum on Sat. It was alright. The space is amazing and I like the way the images were presented but after a while there was just too many and I though the film at the end was a little too 'Enigma' like altho some shots were beautiful. Just a little too unnatural for me. I dunno. I loved the space though.

Walked around town w/ Jen and some of her friends all day. ALL over town. Had coffee and dessert. Then dinner at a Vietnamese place on B and 7th I think. It was ok. Drinks were great tho. Then went to a couple of bars but it got so loud that we had to scream and all of our throats hurt. Then we went to another bar down to the basement for quiet and within 10 min the place became PACKED and the music was turned up way too loud. Then some chick came out in her bra and panties and started to pole dance so I was SO outta there. Then went to eat at a diner. Got home at 3.

Sunday woke up at noon. Got ready and went to LI for Easter w/ david's family. His Mom made corned beef and mashed potatoes which is my FAVORITE meal EVER so I was in serious heaven. Ate so much but I don't care. So freakin good.

Achoo!

Well Spring is definitely here. How do I know? Because my allergies have begun. Nothing horrible. Yet. But I've been here about a half hr and have already used many tissues. Ugh. I hate Spring. I wish we could go right from Winter to Summer. Or better yet just have Summer and Fall, with maybe a couple weeks of Winter thrown in, just for snowy fun.

Yesterday's weather was so miserable I was actually thinking "Wow, I used to live in Miami and I chose to come here." But I love this city and the Northeast in general and wouldn't change it for a 80 degree, sunny, day at the beach for anything.

I'm still home. I've been home since my Dad died. I am entitled to 5 days off for bereavement. I have taken 4. I am going back to work tomorrow. I'm actually looking forward to it as I'm a little lonely at home all day.

I haven't done much but sit on the couch and watch TV. Lots of Buffy. A few Dawson's Creeks here and there. And maybe a little Martha Stewart thrown in. Maybe run a few errands here and there. In all it has been a very relaxing and restful 5 days. And I'm feeling much better now.

Sunday was day 1 of Spring. And possibly the grayest day I have ever seen. David decided to do Spring cleaning. Starting with my closet. It was well overdue. With his help it went pretty smoothly and now I can actually see in my closet and find things. I found things I thought were lost. Thanks Dave.

Afterwards we celebrated Spring by going to Uncle Nicks for some dinner. Greek salad, taramosalata and Chilean Sea Bass. So damn good. So fresh. I could eat Greek everyday. And I'd probably live longer if I did.

This weekend I will be going out to LI yet again to see my cousins and David's family. I'm looking forward to seeing my cousins and my Aunt since the death of my Dad. It will be good to trade stories of him and have some laughs. They are a very comedic family.

Happy Spring!

Cattylea Orchid at New York Botanical Gardens' Annual Orchid Show

My Dad

My Dad died today. He passed at 6:45AM Australian time. For him it couldn't have come soon enough as he has been in a lot of pain due to cancer taking over his liver. For us that he has left behind it is always too soon.

My Dad left us when I was 12 years old, my brother 18. Due to bad business deals and mismanaging of money he lost everything-our cars, electricity, water, phone, and eventually the house. He left on a two week trip to do some business dealings overseas and never returned. Occasionally we would recieve a postcard from various European countries with updates on the next deal he's about to break into and how he hopes to return soon. He never did. Eventually I realized that he was not coming back. And my missing him turned into anger. I didn't talk to him for several years.

I began writing him again in my teens. Usually angry letters or just simple Christmas cards without emotion. But deep down I missed my Dad. He was everything to me as a child.

The past 15 years or so we have talked several times a year. Sending cards and letters on holidays and talking on birthdays and Christmas. About a year and a half ago he was diagnosed with lung cancer. No doubt caused by the cigarettes, cigars, and pipes he loved so much. They removed one of his lungs and things seemed to be better afterwards.

Months later he was having terrible stomach pains. He was diagnosed with liver cancer. They began chemotherapy which lasted many weeks. He became very weak as expected. After the doses were done they did their x-rays and the news wasn't good. The lesions had grown 12%. It was just a matter of time.

He was moved to a hospice about two weeks ago. They were good to him. He enjoyed the food. They allowed him to drink his favorite sherry. He died with his girlfriend Jacquie by his side.

I'm so sad. Even though he hasn't been a main part of my life for 20 years now he's still my Dad. And I still love him.



Adalbert Ottomar Konrad Valentin Launerts (Ady O) 1927-2005

U2

Yesterday tickets went on sale for the Fall leg of the U2 tour. I had planned to get 5 tickets. I got to work early (on time) and signed onto Ticketmaster promptly at 8:59AM. I got in right away. But the pull down menu only allowed me to choose 1 or 2 tickets. WTF?? So I chose two, waited about 2 minutes, and then was given decent seats for the Saturday night show-section 308, row A. Nice. But then I tried to go back in to secure tix for my buddies. Now the pulldown menu gave me an option of up to 8 tickets. WTF? But no luck. I either got rejected because no tickets were left or I got a message saying I've exceeded my ticket limit.

At least I got 2 tickets. It will be no Elevation 2001 tour, nothing could ever match that unbelievably emotional show. But it's something.

Beware the ides of March

Today is Gramma's 78th birthday. I called to wish her a happy day and she couldn't stop talking about what a wonderful day she had with us all on Sunday. I really have to visit Gramma more often. I just wish we didn't have to go to Long Island to do it!

LI

Went to LI yesterday to celebrate Gramma's birthday. She had saltfish & eggs waiting for us. Along with some bake. Then later on she had doubles ready for lunch. I love my Gramma.

We went to visit David's childhood babysitter, Ana, in the nursing home. She has been there since December. She is 98. Amazing. I was very nervous to go as I've never been to a nursing home before. This one was nice. As nice as a nursing home can be I guess. As we walked the halls looking for her room I peered into other rooms. So many elderly people, lying in their beds, watching TV. Very sad. Then we found Ana. She had at least 5 people in the room, all saying hello to her. Her daughter and son-in-law were there. They come to see her everyday. That made me happy. It's so sad that some people will admit their family members there and rarely visit.

Ana was pleased to see us and recognized us immediately. She can't speak much but managed to get out a 'guapo' to David and Matthew and a 'que bonita' for me and Shaina. She also recognized Gramma and said "my friend for many years". She constantly blew us kisses and held our hands, not wanting us to go, and to show how happy whe was we came and didn't forget about her. It was very touching. Just as we were leaving more visiters had come to see her. Her grandchildren and great grandson had come with flowers and kisses. There was so much love in the room.


Ana


Afterward we went to see Bride & Prejudice with the whole family. This is my first Bollywood movie, and probably my last. Not that it was horrible or anything, just not my cup of tea. The Indian women were amazingly beautiful and the colors in the musical numbers were so vibrant. It was overwhelming. But at two hours it felt too long. I was ready to leave.

We went back to the house. Had dinner. Brought out the Junior's cheesecake Matthew brought. Candles were blown out. We said our birthday goodbyes and took the dreaded LIRR home.

Did I mention how much I love my Gramma?

Espana

I'm going to Espana! I have begun preparations for our fall trip to Spain. The best part about the trip is we will be flying for free using our Delta Skymiles! We each have some 80,000+ miles and it's only 50,000 to Europe. Nice. The only problem is that I didn't book early enough so flights are limited. Very limited. I didn't get the exact dates I want but it's no biggie. And there were no more direct flights available so the flights will be longer.

Looks like we're going Sept 7-19. That's about 10 days. We'll start in Barcelona and move our way down south, leaving out of Madrid. We may even try to throw in a day or two of Morocco.

I'm so excited. Block Island in July. Spain in September. Life is good.

OCD man

There is a nice man with OCD that works in my building. He used to be on my floor, 9, until we moved up to 12 two years ago. His thing is germs and obsessive hand washing. I know this for several reasons.

Reason 1: His hands are red and raw, and he always walks with them in front of him

Reason 2: He never touched the elevator floor buttons. Ever. He will wait a very long time to ride the elevator in the morning to be sure he rides alone. During the day he will ride the elevator up and down until it is empty and he will then press the buttons his way. How that is no one knows.

Reason 3: He never opens the front building doors. He will stand and pretend to be hanging out until someone opens the door, then he will rush in before it closes.

Reason 4: Today I saw him with his lunch in his hands. A pizza bag and a soda. I realize this is the perfect setup for him. People see his hands are full so they will be more than happy to open doors for him and press elevator buttons for him.

OCD man makes me sad. I wish I could help him. I wish I could wink and say "it's alright buddy, I know".

My Dad

I called my Dad last night. He is in the hospital. He is dying. His cancer has taken over and his liver is completely blocked. He was just moved to a hospice/pain management hospital where he will most likely spend his final days. He sounded very weak but still had his wits about him. He loses his train of thought sometimes but we were still able to have a relatively normal conversation. He said the food is great there, and they allow him to drink alcohol whenever he pleases. His girlfriend brought him a nice spanish sherry at his request. While on the phone the nurses came in at least twice to check on hiim. They asked him on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad is the pain? Seven he said. Damn.

It was difficult talking to him and at times I was close to tears but it was good to talk to him. I just kept thinking that soon I will not be able to hear his voice anymore. I wish I had tapes of his voice.

It's so unfortunate how this has all turned out. He leaving me when I was 12. Never to return. It's too bad things couldn't be different.

Yesterday I was awoken as usualy by the monsters upstairs called my neighbors. I have yet to sleep past 9:30AM because of the ridiculously naughty child and his even worse I-have-no-control-over-my-son mother. UGH! I'm so freakin' tired of this!

Dave and I went to do some errands. Returned some fancy skirt he bought for a photo shoot at Saks Fifth Avenue. So damn rooty tooty they are. The whole set up is strange. There were like no registers. You just walk up to someone and say "I want to return this", give them the item and your card, and they dissapear. Very strange. I guess rich people can't see the registers. That's for us regular folk. They told us to browse around, maybe we'd find something else we'd like. I looked. $1,200 for a plain old sheath dress that I could get at Target for $20. No thanks. Then the lady came over "maybe you'd like some new jeans?". We both looked down at mine. My 3 year old, H&M super flare. "um, not that yours aren't lovely" she said nervously. We left. I hate that place.

Went to Tiffany's to get our rings polished. I always feel so fancy going up there.

Then we went over to the Whitney to catch the Bill Viola piece that is only up for 1 more day- Five Angles of the Millenium. Stunning. The man is pure genius. 5 videos in a pitch dark room. So pitch that people were stumbilng over each other. All 5 videos were taken at different angels, speeds, some forward, some backwards, some upside down. All of a man, or an angel rather, falling, or rising from the water. So beautiful. So disorienting. Really mesmerizing. Dave must have been in there for at least an hour. The sounds as well as the visuals completely engulf you in the experience. I hope he has another full scale show soon as he did at the Whitney some years back.




We then walked down Madison Ave. Boy the East Side is a wasteland after 6pm. Everything closed. No coffee shops. No bodegas. Just fancy schmancy shops. Finally walked over to Lexington and stopped at a Burger Heaven for a snack. Overpriced burgers, gross fries and onion rings. The place was weird but we were hungry so it did the trick.

Came home and watched Identity. Started out good. I guess the story was interesting but still dissapointing. Oh well, at least I got to see John Cusack.

NIN

I gots me 4 tickets to see Nine Inch Nails. I'm OH so exited. I haven't seen my old friend Trent Reznor since the good ol' days in Miami. He makes me heart go pitter patter.

Wonderfalls

Dave and I stumbled across a review of Wonderfalls a couple weeks back when it was playing at The Museum of TV & Radio. It's produced by the same producer of Angel and Firefly. Apparently this was a new Fox series that was pulled off the air after only 4 episodes. Probably because they gave it the shitty Friday night timeslot.

Petitions, websites and emails were sent begging Fox to keep it going. But alas it went bye bye.

Luckily all 13 episodes are now available on DVD. We received the first disc from Netflix last night and I must say we are very impressed. Very quirky. Very unique. The lead Caroline Dhavernas is great.

snowflakes

I think this snowfall was the prettiest snowfall this year. The flakes were so big, light and fluffy. And it looks so beautiful on all the tree branches and fire escapes.

I love this city.