The Dromomaniac

Is it just me...

Or is Russell Simmons the coolest cat around? Aside from the speech impediment, of course.

They Done Did

Paul's friend Jon got married yesterday to his fiancee Jen. Our friend Steve was the best man and has been in town for a few weeks from New Orleans for the occasion. I didn't know too many people there, but the ones I did know are awesome and fun and chock full o' snark. 

The ceremony was very Catholic and I thought we'd get ejected because Paul kept making me laugh. I also realized halfway through that my boob was sticking out, but we were in the back  of the church so sadly, no one saw. Good times. The reception was at a country club out in Clarence. It was a pretty standard reception, but the food was actually good (a rarity, 'specially for us veg types.) We were seated with Steve and his folks and some other friends. As always, I was slow to get on the dance floor, but once DJ dude got to my request (Dead or Alive, bitchez), you couldn't get me off. I'm not a good dancer at all, but I'm a silly one and that's way more important. At least to me. 

Anyway, as always, we met some really interesting people including two photographers. I enjoyed hearing them talk shop with Paul because I love photography but know next to nothing about it. 

I also loved the excuse to get gussied. Thank you, Jon and Jen, for providing us with a very good excuse to preen and parade.

Detective Friday

By the time Fridays roll around, I'm usually half-tied together at best. Case in point: I left everything in the car when I came home from work yesterday. I left my backpack, lesson plans, gradebook, gym bag - everything. I keep stumbling around looking for things and realize they're still in the car. Which now means I have to slap together the innards of a plastic bag and hope it's what I need for the day. 

The Fab Four

I normally don't go out after Literacy Volunteers because I work until 9 and it can be exhausting. But last night, Paul was mountain biking and I got out a little early so I decided to drop in to Nietszche's to see Melissa perform. I've seen Melissa plenty of times, but this was a little different because there were four singer-songwriters in total and each took a turn in rounds. It was a great format because everyone had different but complimentary styles, and the turn-taking shook it up just enough to make it continually interesting. As always, it was great to see Dr. Ron Lelito and Marcia and to finally meet Noa Bursie in person. Ron and Melissa will be singing a song at our wedding and I'm really looking forward to it as it's their rendition of "Simple" by k.d. lang. Yay!

Jordan, Lilies, and Injuries

Well, the 3 and a half day weekend is officially over. Bugger.

The festivities were launched Thursday evening with an impromptu soiree in the backyard. Our friend Steve is visiting from New Orleans, so he came over, along with Yulia, Ana, and Sandra and Charmaine and Nikki. Sandra is a friend of Paula's and she lives right near me, so I've decided we must hangout more often. Charmaine is Sandra's friend who I'd met at Paula's as well and it was awesome to re-meet her. We emptied several bottles of wine before half of us (meaning not me) went to Del Denby's. I suspect that did not end well because it never does.

In true form, I slept all day on Friday. Seriously. I took three naps. I think that's a new record. I had to teach Friday night, so that's my excuse. 

On Saturday, Paul went mountain biking and then to a bachelor party. I lolled around at home and then went up to Niagara Falls to see my friend Larry, who had been in a massive car crash in December. He's pretty much recovered, but there are still some things he needs help with, like lifting heavy objects. We went to Home Depot to fill a propane tank and I brought it back to the car because he's not supposed to. Or so he claims - this may just be a crafty way of getting out of hard labor. Jerk. Later, I met up with Ana Banana at the mighty Gecko's on Hertel. Yeah, I know, but we're in the process of boycotting other places so it seemed a good spot to plan our revolution. My friend Allison (Larry's daughter) joined us and then Paul reappeared in time to go to Merge to see the Skiffles. Allison was exhausted so she split, but I bumped into June, with whom I'd done organic food and wine classes at Shakti. Get all that?

Sunday was a lazy day but I was antsy to go somewhere so we hopped into the car and went to Canada. I love living so close to the border because I can be all international-n-shiz within 20 minutes. We drove to Jordan, a little wine-producing town about a half hour from Niagara-On-The-Lake. We tasted some wines at Cave Spring Cellars and bought a Rose and a Gamay. We soaked up the sunshine on the terrace of Zooma Zooma, a cafe with an admirable local wine list and yummy food. Paul got a kick ass squash soup and a local porter and I ordered a Pinot Gris, which was the perfect lighter style white for a day like that. We then headed over to NOTL and stopped at Angel Inn, perhaps our favorite pub in the world before heading back to Buffalo and having dinner on the terrace at Pearl Street. An international pub crawl, if you will.

Monday, I actually got up at 8, which now seems ludicrous since I'm typing this at 5:30am. I picked up some Lilies of the Valley that a friend dug up from her front garden and went up to a nursery to get another perennial or two. I ended up with purple and gold day lily and three lavender plants. I settled those into the front and then attacked the backyard, which required a lot of digging and ripping up and mud. I cleared out a decent space my the garage and planted loads of sunflowers and marigolds there as an experiment (we don't know what will actually grow since it doesn't get all that much sun). Then I attacked an area near the fence and cleaned it out to plant the transplanted lilies from Michelle. I ended up covered in mud and grime. Paul was laboring away inside designing our wedding invitations, which I LOVE. We decided to finish up the nibblies from Thursday by having a picnic in Delaware Park, so we packed up two backpacks and cycled over to the little lake. The sun was still bright so we lazed around and had our rose with fontina, strawberries, crackers, tomatoes, yellow peppers, radishes, and olives. 

So I'm up and caffienated and wondering what the heck I'll do with the kids today. My booty's a lil' sore from cycling and planting and I got a nice slice in one of my fingers from lord knows which garden tool. It's a busy week again and I've promised to work four days for Literacy Volunteers. We also have a wedding to go to on Saturday as well as an 11th Tae Kwon Do birthday party. Yum.

AND

Today is 3 years since my Papi died. I still miss him. The only thing that becomes easier with time is that he's not on my mind every day. But when he is, I still cry. 

I still miss you and love you, Papi.

(So I guess today is a tribute to the few good men in my life that died way too early.)

Memorial Tutorial

Just in case you haven't gleaned this by now, I'm not the most patriotic chick around. I'm thankful to be born here and to have been lucky enough to be raised here, but I know it's because of my ethnicity and my socio-economic class. That's not to say we're rich and privileged, but the very fact that I was born into a fair to middlin white family gave me access above others. But I'm certainly not a blind flag-waver and although I'm in awe of anyone who willingly enlists in military, I can't offer blanket support unless I know the motivation to do so. If it's to blow up 'turbans', well, then, I think you suck and I'm embarrassed that you represent me. If it's to honestly protect something you believe in, I offer my thanks and humility even if we don't agree.

But I digress. Again. Today is Memorial Day. I'm off, and so are my publicly paid colleagues. Our neighbors have wrapped themselves in American flags and are grilling hot dogs. Is that remembering the past? Maybe. 

I've had people get misty-eyed before me while speaking of the honor and dignity of a long-lost relative who served in one of the World Wars. I can't quite relate to that, but I can relate to my grandfather who did indeed serve in WWII. He was 19 and scared when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Always fancying himself to be quite dapper, he was an usher at a cinema in Brooklyn with dreams of pitching for the Dodgers. Instead, he got married and went to the Pacific. He did his duty and continued to: he went to City College on the GI Bill and worked a kazillion jobs to support his growing brood while paying off his Levittown home. My grandfather was perpetually singing and cracking jokes - the ultimate Vaudevillian - but his life was the depiction of the dream deferred. And he did it because he thought that he had to.

I suppose that's what today is about for me. I'm thankful to have known people like my grandfather. He didn't get killed in battle, but he instead served and came home to a worse battlefield in his own home without complaint. He didn't allow his own frustrations to surface. He became the only father my cousins have known and delighted in recounting the latest caper he'd had with his 3 year old grandson. If I'm going to remember and honor anyone today, it's people like him. 

Well, I smell like a goat, so I have to go shower. Cheers.  

Like Ebony and Ivory

My first friend up here is a professor from UB named Warren. He's a very light-skinned black man - so light, in fact, that I didn't realize he was black until he made the point to tell me. (I don't know what I thought he 'was' because it didn't actually occur to me, but I digress.) He's pretty hilarious because he's the self-proclaimed WASPiest guy you'll ever meet. After recently filing a police report about a theft, he noticed the report listed him as a white male. He excitedly called me and announced he was looking forward to cashing in on all the the privileges and none of the responsibilities attached to being white. I politely reminded him that we have no responsibilities, as is clearly evident by American history.

Welp, the crafty tricks of genetics were at it again tonight when one of the girls I work with asked me if I was half-black. I'd never been asked that before but she said I looked like I was. So they all began guessing my ancestry, asking if I was Mexican or Puerto Rican and I finally had to gently break the news that I'm just a generic white chick. They were rather deflated.

This all brings me full circle with my Replay Records days. I worked at an indie hip-hop label for about a year in Manhattan where various characters would continually chat me up and/or order me to bring them McDonald's. During one such event, a young thug eloquently engaged me in the following conversation:

Him: You Puerto Rican?

Me: No,

Him: Jewish?

Me: No.

Him: Pakistani?

Me: (pause) Do I look Pakistani?

Him: No.

Me: Well then?

Side by side on that keyboard.

To Quote Belinda Carlisle...

Heaven is a place on earth. And right now, it's HERE. The weather is fanfuckingtastic and we've moved Thursday Happy Hour to our out-of-doors, thereby proving Dorothy Gale's proclamation that one ought not look any farther than one's own backyard. Because if it's not well stocked with chilling wine and nibbles and friends, go back inside and weep.

When Fact and Fiction Blur

One of the many useless applications on Facebook is "How well do you know me?" for which you create a quiz about your own fascinating self. And nothing screams ME! ME! ME! quite like Facebook. So this naturally is something I simply had to create. If you fail, I hate you and/or shall disown you. 

Good luck!

1)	Where haven't I been that makes no sense?
a)	Italy
b)	Las Vegas
c)	France
d)	Toronto
e)	London

2)	What is the best song in the world?
a)	"Glamorous" by Fergie
b)	"Gin & Juice" by Snoop Dogg
c)	"Final Countdown" by Europe
d)	"Dark Angel" by Electric Six
e)	"Just Dropped In" by Kenny Rogers

3)	What is my favorite piece of costume jewelry?
a)	An amethyst ring from my grandmother
b)	A silver and turquoise necklace from the 1970s
c)	Earrings I bought in Paris
d)	A black coral bracelet from Venezuela
e)	A bracelet from my best friend

4)	Which job haven't I had?
a)	Drinking wine
b)	Cutting hair
c)	Changing oil
d)	Pumping gas
e)	Flipping burgers

5)	Who do I want to punch in the face?
a)	Rosie O'Donnell
b)	Renee Zellweger
c)	Miley Cyrus
d)	The entire Fox News crew
e)	All of the above

6)	Who is not one of my heroes?
a)	My friend Helen
b)	Oprah
c)	My mom
d)	Joni Mitchell
e)	Dolly Parton

7)	Who was the love of my life (until now, of course!)?
a)	The Dude
b)	Stephen Colbert
c)	Norton
d)	Salma Hayek
e)	John C. Reilly

8)	What is happening on August 1st?
a)	Jamie's getting lypo. Again.
b)	Jamie's getting married. Again.
c)	Jamie's moving to Mexico. Again.
d)	Jamie's criminal court case will be heard. Again.
e)	Jamie's sleeping all day. Again.

9)	If I had a million dollars, I would...
a)	Donate it to charity.
b)	Invest every cent.
c)	Piss it away on Jimmy Choos.
d)	Move to Hollywood.
e)	Run like hell.

10)	Who haven't I made a nickname for?
a)	Dr. Ron Lelito
b)	Ms. Julia Maher
c)	Sir Paul Marko
d)	Ms. Elizabeth Taufa
e)	Ms. Maureen McLoughlin