Survived

I survived my first day of work at my new job. Talk about information overload. Brain burst.

Cat lady strikes again

From icanhascheesberger.com:

"You're Very Interspecial To Me"

(C)ICANHASCHEEZBURGER.COM

head explosion

NOMI IS TWO!

Nomi's photo from the Humane Society

Nomi came into my life in August, after many cats.  Yes, too many.  There was Boo Radley, who was the best of the best.  Then Esme, and then Auggie.  And then I promised everyone to stop getting cats. And I immediately adopted another cat.  But this time, it was a great match.  Nomi is an incredibly sweet soul and I am so glad that she is in my life.

Now all I know is she was born around March; so I decided that today is her 2nd birthday.  She didn't get a cake, but she got some extra loving and even MORE playtime, if that is possible.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOMI!  (I still can't believe I own a cat)

Nomi's first couple of days were spent in the bathroom

But she soon got used to the apartment.

And she finally slept next to me. (I still can't get her
to sleep in my lap, but next to is a good enough).

She spent a lot of time the first week behind the
DVD player.  She was only 7 lbs so she could squeeze in.  She's now 8 lbs and can't fit in there :)

Television fascinates her.

She even traveled with me to Florida,
where she spent the most of her time
under the bed.  Or in front of the window
 staring at totally different stuff from New York

She's gotten a little chunky but she is quite regal.

And she plays fetch.  But sometimes she purposely
 tosses her paper ball under things just to get at them.

And I still love her.

Sleeping on the MTA

Last night coming back on the A train I fell asleep. Which actually is normal. I however normally wake up a couple of stops before mine. This time I didn't. Now my stop is the absolutely last stop on the A. So luckily it wasn't that big deal. However what was disturbing is that the subway cop had to wake me up. Thankfully he just lightly touched my shoulder. The other people sleeping in my car were men and he woke them by banging his baton against the poles.

Now today on the express bus to the UES I fell asleep in the bus. Which is pretty normal. However this time if it wasn't for a a quick eye peek I almost missed my stop.

I guess the moral of this story is I am f***ing tired.

Addendum
Fell asleep on the express bus coming back and missed my stop entirely and am now touring Riverdale and Yonkers. I'll get home in about another hour...

Art is up

Finally got three pieces of art up. Only took a year. Not bad time really.

First one is in kitchen. Second in bathroom. Third in hallway. Really it took me about 10 yrs. I've been holding onto these things for years.

I feel defined.

I really like A Word A Day. It's a great site.  Today's word really hit home for some reason.

http://wordsmith.org/words/today.html

Xanthippe or Xantippe

PRONUNCIATION:

(zan-THIP-ee, -TIP-) 

MEANING:

noun: A nagging, ill-tempered woman.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Xanthippe, wife of Socrates (c. 5 BCE) who has been portrayed as a nagging, quarrelsome woman. The name Xanthippe is from xanthos (yellow) + hippos (horse). Also see xanthodontous. Earliest documented use: 1691.

NOTES:

Socrates is said to have advised, "By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." It's not known what Socrates thought would happen if the roles were reversed. Also, there's the question of which came first: philosophizing or being ill-tempered. Would being married to a philosopher turn a woman into a shrew?

USAGE:

Mistress Foster is a grasping shrew, a Xanthippe, who bosses her husband about."
Jean Howard; Theater of a City: The Places of London Comedy; University of Pennsylvania Press; 2009.

(c) 2013 Wordsmith.org

Where did Jersey go?

fun weekend in nyc

My friend Fren came to visit last weekend and we started off the weekend with dinner with Frike and Fraul at one of my favorite restaurants, Marseille.  It's a part of the Tour de France restaurant chains, and is solid in my book.

Then Saturday morning, we decided to start the day off right with breakfast at Sylvia's.  We both had the breakfast of champions, fried chicken and grits.

Then we walked our way down to the Met with Frussell, Frob and their friend Frarry.  We saw lots of interesting things:

Then, Frynn suggested a great exhibit to go to:  Ann Hamilton's Event of A Thread.  It was closing last weekend so we of course got in line to see it.

Me and Fren

Frynn who refuses to be photographed

For more information about this exhibit go here:  Ann Hamilton's Event of A Thread

I don't want to go into the details, but will just show you the videos and photos:

 It was an excellent exhibit and a great weekend.  Thanks for visiting, Fren!

And of course, what post isn't complete without a photo of Nomi.

I may be sick...

but my feet are happy

FOUR YEARS SMOKE-FREE!

I can't believe it's been four years.  Actually I thought last year was four years, but one of my smoke-free rehab partners reminded us all that it was in 2009 that we were holed up at Kripalu in the first week of January, snow all around us.  I had joined this smoke-free workshop that included talk therapy, hypnosis, acupuncture and meditation.  Well, our group wandered around together like a bunch of rehabers, dragging ourselves around in sweats, in a nicotine-withdrawal fog.  It was hard, but there was something about being isolated in the snowy Massachusetts woods, going through this with a bunch of other people that pulled me through.  That and I was seriously determined to stop.  I was driven to do it.

It was the most difficult thing I have ever had to do and I struggle with it still.  I think once an addict, always an addict.  I still have my moments when I think, I want a cigarette, but I have to remind myself why I quit.  I will always be smoke-free.

Ye Olde PSAs from the 80s

PSA - Time for Timer - Breakfast

PSA - Time For Timer - Hanker For A Hunk O Cheese

Vaccinations SAVE LIVES

This is in response to The New York Times article, "Vaccine Rule Is Said to Hurt Health Efforts" (12/17/12)

Please educate yourselves before making a foolish decision as forcing single dose vaccines or not giving your child the chance to survive against many deadly diseases. These multidose vials are the best way to counteract childhood diseases across the world. Yes, it is the least expensive as well, but for those who don't know, to change to single dose vials would raise the price of vaccines exponentially. Childhood diseases once rare are now coming back with a vengeance. For example, whooping cough is running rampant across the nation. 

I can't stress this enough:  THIMEROSAL DOES NOT CAUSE AUTISM. Many clinical trials have proven that thimerosal does not cause autism. Per one clinical investigator: 

"Most of the children in the study had blood mercury levels of 1 or 2 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml); the highest level, found in one child, was 4.11 ng/ml. By comparison, the most stringent public safety limit, established by the Environmental Protection Agency, is above 5.8 nanograms per milliliter. That number itself is a small fraction of the amount that scientists believe is the level of mercury that would actually harm a child." 

TV Is addictive

MILIZARD

(c) 2006 Pockafwye

dream before I woke:  i was back at school, first day, moving into my dorm room, which looked like a ratty new york apartment with bad windows.  I had roommates but they weren't around and I didn't know who they were. My friends were hanging with me when some of the lights go out.  We find the fuse and they weren't blown.  Then I see the vacuum plugged into the wall.  The super comes up and says that is the problem.  even though the vacuum wasn't runnning, leaving it plugged in the wall made the electricity in the room overload.  (is this some sort of dire warning to me? i got lotssss of outlet strips) Also I had a pet mouse/lizard which freaked out everyone in the dorm.  I didn't know how to take care of her.  I went to the outdoor fair where there was a vet stall and they said she will need this leaf-shell like home .  I asked if she would make her own, and they said yes, eventually (oops - she had, but I had stepped on it) and I got some special canned food.

Then I woke up.

I am going to fix all of the electrical cords in my apartment now.  Have a good day.

Cats

Because I don't want to talk about my cat all the time on Facebook or in person, I am going to post pictures of her here.  Because she is adorable.  And crazy.  And sweet. I lurrrrrrve her.



She loves this bag.  She's been hiding in things lately.  She also has been hiding underneath a blanket on the couch.  She's so weird.

Nomi is in there somewhere

Joining in on the action

Dance (I)

Henri Matisse (French, 1869–1954) at the MOMA

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT BUTTER

The Scream by Edvard Munch from the MOMA exhibit

Only in New York

I was in a cab going uptown and I couldn't help myself from photographing a couple of gems

My favorite is the deli which has cartoon character food who look frightened to soon be eaten. And just to make sure you understand what they are selling, they have the tag line: "Beer and Healthy Food Bar."

I love this city.