This new album from Portishead, called Third, is fantastic. The song The Rip is particularly lovely, and gives me goosebumps when I hear it.
SHE DID IT!!!!!
After 13 years of study (including kindergarten!), Yvonne is graduating from La Cueva High School!!! The ceremony is this Sunday, May 11, at the Pit. If you’re anywhere near Albuquerque, come celebrate with us!!
This picture was taken during the robing ceremony, in which my mother Yvonne robed Yvonne in the official cap and gown that Yvonne will wear on Sunday. We got to hear all about all the accomplishments of all the seniors… and yeah, La Cueva is full of very high achieving kids. It’s nice to hear and all, but Yvonne’s college is completely paid for, and I’m SO proud of her, and that’s really all I was there for. 
When I was a teenager, I read The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff. It had a tremendous influence on me, as it did on many people, and illustrated that it was possible to not only live your life in harmony with those around you, but to stop struggling against yourself and to just exist.
I still recommend this book to people whenever I get the chance, as I hope it can influence people just as positively as it did me. Most people give me a friendly ear while I rant and rave about it, find it on the internet, and print out excerpts for them to read, but they never pursue it. Regardless, I still try, because I believe in what Benjamin Hoff had to say.
Here’s a picture of my Yahoo inbox. Note the last message is sent from “Virus,” which made me laugh.
I went in to wake up Harry and Zoe for school as usual, and Harry wasn’t in his bed. Not a big deal… he does this. He goes to sleep in my bed sometimes.
I went into my room to wake him up, and he wasn’t there. Hmmmmm. Maybe he was buried under covers in his bed, or on the floor, under the long table by his bed (maybe he’s hiding and messing with me).
I rechecked his bed and the area around it- no Harry.
Went back to my room- not under covers, not on the floor by the bed.
Starting to get a little nervous.
I check the bathrooms- Zoe is in one, the others are empty.
My teens are still home at this point- they check their rooms, and no Harry.
I go downstairs and check every room. No Harry. The couches- vacant.
I return to my room- check my closet, the floor all over, the bed… no Harry.
I’m having images of the Eisenberg baby and other children who were taken from their rooms in the middle of the night. Ironically, I actually locked the doors last night. Where’s my son?
I check under his bed, under Zoe’s bed, calling his name loudly now. I check the hallway, the laundry area, recheck the teens’ rooms, the bathrooms, my closet, my bed…. no Harry.
It’s probably time to call the police. How can this happen to us???? We’re going to be one of those sad stories of a child snatched from his own bedroom just before his birthday… Well, the first few hours are the most important. Must call.
I go into my bedroom to call, and Harry is wandering around in there. He looks a little dazed and bewildered.
He shrugs his shoulders, puts his hands palms up, and says, “I fell asleep under your bed!!” I picked him up, sat him on my lap as I sat on the bed, and hugged and rocked him.
OMG.
Whatever the case, I’d love to have been there when this happened. It reminds me of when Daniele and I dumped a bucket full of superballs down onto our living room floor from the second story. It was awesome.
Don is my hero. I love the psychotic look on his face while he says that "he just loves guns."
Our big orange cat Cletus fell ill in October with what was most likely liver cancer. He held on for another two months, until finally, yesterday, December 9, he let me know that his suffering was too great. I took him to an emergency clinic, where I met Dr. Deeb, who was celebrating his 49th birthday. He was very loving and gentle with Cletus, whom I held like a baby until he had passed on. Before we were taken in, I had about half an hour alone with Cletus in the van. He purred constantly and meowed every time I stopped petting him. He gazed into my eyes… I don’t suppose that he knew what was about to happen, but I’m glad we had those last few minutes together.
Zoe has never dealt well with death… her experiences with it so far have been few and far between, but every time, it’s a devastating blow to her. Although Cletus was the most aloof of our cats, he was nevertheless one of our cats, and Zoe is just not dealing well with it. It’ll take some time.
I stopped by a store called Wanderlust, which was recommended by Julia of Mother Road Theatre, and found some jewelery for Zoe and me, commemorating Cletus. I got a ring with an amber stone, and a pendant with a topaz or citrine stone (nice orangey color, in either case). I love both of them, so I’ll have to leave the decision up to Zoe, as to who gets which item. And to top it off, Zoe got braces on her lower teeth today, and had her rubber bands on her braces all changed to orange in Cletus’s honor. Everyone in the orthodontist’s office extended their condolences to us, which was very kind, and very appreciated.
My brother sent me this, and I almost fell over laughing.
I am sad to report that Rosemary Hunter, who would have made an awesome super powered crime-fighter, failed the tests administered by the James Randi Educational Foundation. If you so desire, you can view the test on Youtube individually, or as an auto-advancing playlist.
For what it’s worth, Ms. Hunter seems like a very nice woman, and if there was any paranormal power I’d like to have seen verified, that was it.
