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Lady of the Flies

So all it's been doing is raining and thundering and storming lately around here...and part of me likes it because it hasn't been really super hot yet and we are already in July. But, hello, weather gods, this is not the rainforest...enough with the storms already. Now, I guess when I moved in to the apt, I didn't check the windows very well, because SOMEONE left them open - all of them - at the top and I never noticed. Until last night that is. Because GIANT FLIES seemed to have taken over my apt. Big, fat, ugly, buzzing, dive-bombing, crazy flies. We used to get them in Las Vegas in the summer but I remember them more towards the end of the summer and they seemed to die by autumn. So I'm setting up my laptop and arranging my desk (presumably to maybe try and write something) and I see them fly by, like 10 of them, all near my ears and they were really fast and zooming all over the place and I couldn't see where they were...anyway, it took me a good hour to kill them all. I tried to save them and I opened the windows wide and shooshed them that way but they wouldn't leave peacefully. So I got the roach spray out to gas them and nearly gassed myself. Anyway, I felt a bit as if a plague had taken over my home - you know in scary movies, the first indication that evil is present seems to be a large amount of flies...hmmmm.... the only thing that helped me feel better was watching a Blur concert on TV - ah, now I'm back in love with Damon Albarn








and listening to Think Tank as I write this...and eating a doughnut, someone just brought in dougnuts and yippee, that goes great with my coffee...which I will have to drink by the truckload because after gassing myself with the roach spray and then another storm started up, I coudn't sleep. And I was already exhausted because I didn't sleep much the night before. So I kept waking up and then finally got up at 4 for awhile and watched some show on PBS about Yellowstone Park and felt very frustrated and let down because I was really looking forward to sleeping a lot!!

I'm a tad bit grumpy today with a lot of work to do and I know I'm rambling bit but I got all excited about Blur again (my favorite song that he sang was This is a Low, which I love anyway, but it sounded really AWESOME live - the only other time I think I've heard them live is on David Letterman and he sang Out of Time really simply and beautifully).

Okay. Back to doughnut, coffee, and work, in that order.

Heard But Not Seen...

That is the theme for the Fourth of July this year...because we set out with very good intentions to meet up in Brooklyn Heights to watch the fireworks by the water...and we walked towards the promenade and stood there for a bit..and then we noticed that the line at Grimaldi's was remarkably short...and our stomachs realized we all hadn't really eaten all day...and so we shrugged our shoulders as the fireworks started with a "seen it already" attitude and ordered some fine pepperoni pizza and beer... and we could HEAR the fireworks and the oohs and aahs...but still a lovely evening all the same, after everyone left the pier, we headed out to stand by the water and talk until close to midnight and then we all went our separate ways home... a nice day off all and all...I napped and/or read for a good part of it - lovely!

Also: a couch has been purchased and will arrive next week! So I no longer have to sit on my aerobed when watching Mets games in my living room...or Gone With the Wind for 4 hours on Saturday, now THAT was not very comfortable...

Today? I'm tired. Because by the time I got home, due to R train issues, it was after 1 a.m. and I get a little keyed up at night anyway, plus I had taken multiple naps, so needless to say, I wasn't super tired (but I was kind of sweaty because some of us walked back over the Brooklyn Bridge and a bit more before getting ont) so after a shower I laid on the aerobed for awhile and watched The Piano, one of my absolute favorite films but alas could not stay up for all of it, I needed SOME sleep before work today...so I have it on DVD, I'll have to maybe finish it up tonight (after laundry, grocery shopping, making of lunch for tomorrow and Friday, and replanting of herb garden of course)...Little Anna Paquin is so cute and precocious and she reminds me of Lucy in Hideous Kinky (see EOM note below).

This week? I'm hopeful for Shakespeare in the Park this weekend, this is my last chance to see the awesome Liev Schreiber as Macbeth...can I get there early enough? You have to line up as early as 7:30 or 8 am to get tickets, so I'm going to give it a try...wish me luck :-)

*And a special note for EOM: I watched Hideous Kinky this weekend for about the 50th time and thought of you "in Bilal's Village" aaawwwww!! That little Lucy is so cute, she is so the daughter I'm going to have one day....I decided to reread the book on Sunday as well, which I don't think you've read yet, but I should send it to you...its just as good (I sort of like the movie better, but that's mainly due to the cute little actresses who play Lucy and Bea).

Weird Dreams of Late...

Could it be because I have a deeper, better REM sleep, now that the OCB (Old Crazy Bastard) is no longer a factor in my homelife? Maybe...I am sleeping much more peacefully since the move, it's EXTREMELY serene in my bedroom. I have 4 windows and I haven't been using the A/C's at night, just opening two of the windows wide (I told Magpie it looks like a Stevie Nicks video from the 80's because it's been so windy/breezy lately, that the long purply curtains are always blowing out dramatically) and since I'm at the back of the building, I hear no street noise. It's almost as if I'm in the woods, like by a river or something, because if any of you have ever slept by a lot of trees or outside at all, there is this gentle humming sort of whistling noise that the wind through the trees makes. There is a courtyard down below with a ton of trees and so I go to sleep to this sound and its actually very soothing. It's sort of a wild space back there too, because apparently they are working on landscaping it but in the meantime, part of it is partially torn up, with trees cut down and laying on the ground and wild ferns and long, uncut grasses so it's actually cool I think - unlike a park or most courtyard spaces that are perfectly groomed, this looks like what you would find in a real forest - completely untouched with a ton of birds and squirrels fluttering and running around. There is this space on Houston that has been left alone for years in order to let the natural forest and vegetation grow back to give us the idea of what that area really looked like say 300 years ago - and that's sort of what my "back yard" looks like. Anyway, at first, I thought the view atrocious but I thought well really, how often do I look out the windows except to see what the weather looks like? But I've grown fond of it, so there, see how that all works out?

Anyway, the dreams:

On Tuesday night, I had a dream that my mom and my Aunt Judy and I were driving to my grandmother's house to check in on her and when we got there, I saw her lying on her bed with her eyes closed and I started screaming, "she's dead" and I was so upset and Judy and Mom started crying and then my grandma opened her eyes and sat up and said, "no I was just asleep, I haven't been feeling well" and everything was fine and we just sat around and talked with her at her house. I guess its just that I miss her but it was nice to see her and it was one of those dreams were it feels very real and I woke up feeling like I had really spent time with her, so it wasn't a bad dream, just unusual.

Last night, the dream was a bit cloudy so I don't remember all of it now (should have written it down when I woke up!) but I do know there were scary/freaky/weird parts and Otto the Really Nice German Real Estate broker who got me this apartment came to help me get out of some "bad" situation and he told me that he needed to perform an exorcism on me and then after that, all would be well again and all my bad luck would disappear. Wishful thinking? Hopeful about the new apartment and fresh, clean start that a new phase can bring? Ah who knows, maybe I just miss Otto too.

One thing I've been thinking about the past few days is a phrase someone said to me last October: this woman I know who is very spiritual and very wise told me, "you will always suffer discomfort until you learn to rest in your faith" and I just like that idea a lot and I've been trying to remember that. To not struggle against things so much, to not worry or be fearful, especially since so much of it is out of our control - that is resting in faith, faith that things will work out and if not, that you will handle it and move on.

Two Really Good Eggs in My Basket

Egg #1 Frinee!

She felt bad for me that I was sick and had to pack all by myself (she was in Florida that week) and then wanted to help me unpack...but when she found out how distressed I was at the state of my bathroom - it's really really old, they did a messy job of painting and plastering, dripping paint on the tiles and it looked as if it had only been "maybe" cleaned over the past 4 years and the floor was icky - that she offered to clean it head to toe, top to bottom for me! She even took a day off from work to do this for me. Well, Sweet Baby James had his day care graduation that day, so that's the real reason, but afterwards, she came over and got the bathroom glistening and looking almost like new...it still needs a little work but I'm not scared to have my feet touch the tiles any more!! And, she brought me dinner on top of it - um, shouldn't I be buying her dinner? YES! And I will, it was so wonderful of her to help me like that, so I owe her back in a big way.

Egg #2 Beans!

Beans came into town on Sunday for a quick work trip and since she works in the building right across the street from my office, it was easy to meet up with her and get in some drinks (wine) and munchies (tilapia tacos and chocolate fondue) and chitchat (giggles) with her last night... she lives on Cape Cod and I don't get to see her often but she has a super sweet and fantastic husband PJ and her beyond cute 3 year old son Sam, who never neglects to send me a valentine every year ( I have one hanging in my office now, heart that says "Be Mine!" awwww!) so I like to go up and visit them once a year at least...I haven't made a trip so far, but I think in the next month or so, I will be hopping on the Lucky Star Chinatown Express bus to Boston for her to pick me up! She's leaving today, and I miss her already...

Also: Supper Club #? was held this weekend, this time it was Magpie's selection and we went vegan at the Angelica Kitchen . My rating? 3 out of 4 stars...I supremely enjoyed the hibiscus drink with my seitan empanadas served with guacamole and salsa, plus yummy cornbread with onion and carrot spreads...I recommend it for anyone looking to eat some super fresh and super healthy meals! And I also stopped off at the Trader Joe's wine shop (for the first time since it opened) to buy my favorite chardonnay which is the Coppola Gold Label described on his website (http://www.ffcpresents.com/site.php) as such:

"Our Gold Label Chardonnay captures the distinct aromas and flavors of Monterey vineyards. Whole-cluster pressing and a combination of barrel and stainless steel fermenting ensures creaminess balanced by crisp acidity. Highlights of juicy apple, guava and melon flavors are followed by a touch of caramelized sugar on its long silky finish."

Sounds yummy, yeah?

And that was that.