This is what I'm talking about, this is how we look to the world. Doesn't this bother you?


By Andrew Gray
LONDON (Reuters) - The world has watched amazed as the planet's only superpower struggles with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with some saying the chaos has exposed flaws and deep divisions in American society.

World leaders and ordinary citizens have expressed sympathy with the people of the southern United States whose lives were devastated by the hurricane and the flooding that followed.

But many have also been shocked by the images of disorder beamed around the world -- looters roaming the debris-strewn streets and thousands of people gathered in New Orleans waiting for the authorities to provide food, water and other aid.

"Anarchy in the USA" declared Britain's best-selling newspaper The Sun.

"Apocalypse Now" headlined Germany's Handelsblatt daily.

The pictures of the catastrophe -- which has killed hundreds and possibly thousands -- have evoked memories of crises in the world's poorest nations such as last year's tsunami in Asia, which left more than 230,000 people dead or missing.

But some view the response to those disasters more favorably than the lawless aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"I am absolutely disgusted. After the tsunami our people, even the ones who lost everything, wanted to help the others who were suffering," said Sajeewa Chinthaka, 36, as he watched a cricket match in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

"Not a single tourist caught in the tsunami was mugged. Now with all this happening in the U.S. we can easily see where the civilized part of the world's population is."

Buy this book... to help Katrina victims. Because the hurricane was more devastating than anyone thought it would be, because it will take years to rebuild a normal life for the thousands left with nothing, because a family pet is truly a family member and because its the only way I know to help, I'm donating my sales from this book for the rest of 2005 and all of 2006 to the American Red Cross and the ASPCA. You can order it from Barnes and Noble retailer, or online at http://www.barnesandnoble.com. You can also order online from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com and through the publisher at http://www.publishamerica.com

Hurricane ReliefDonate NowVolunteer NowRescue DiaryHurricane HotlineTemporary Pet SheltersHelp for HorsesMedia/Press ReleasesEmergency Pet PreparednessShelter OutreachPet Loss Information



Rescue Photos


Rescue Diary



Animals housed at the Austin Humane Society.
Karen Medicus with Max, a very happy puppy being sheltered in Austin.

Animals housed at the Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette.

Piles of pet food at the Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette.




Click here to make a donation that will go directly to help shelters impacted by natural disasters rebuild facilities and assist in their disaster recovery efforts.

Evening Update, September 5:

Don't believe everything you hear. The ASPCA has investigated allegations that family pets in Louisiana are being taken from their owners and shot. We have found that there is absolutely no truth to this widely circulated rumor. According to reliable sources, one dog was shot and killed after it tried to attack an officer. There is no order to shoot animals unless they are endangering law enforcement officers. In fact, we just heard from our rescue staff in the field that they were stopped by security guards trying to get help for some New Orleans police officers who were helping to care for some puppies at a local Wal-Mart and wanted to make sure that they were rescued. You can help keep a volatile situation from becoming even worse by checking out rumors before passing them on. If you hear about a disturbing situation, let us know. We'll check it out and get back to you.

more false information
You may have heard the rumor that evacuees in Louisiana are being ordered to abandon their animals. In some cases, they have had to leave their animals but there are many animal rescuers in the area. The Louisiana State Veterinarian's Office has assured us that every effort is being made to reunite animals and people. The State Veterinarian's Office is now coordinating all information about animals stranded in LA. They have a 30-computer and phone bank set up, and are on site, so they are in the best position to combine data and forward it to rescue teams. In Louisiana, people reporting stranded animals or have found an animal should call 1-888-773-6489. Outside Louisiana, people should call 225-925-3980. Information may also be e-mailed to katrina@ldaf.louisiana.gov. The State Veterinarian's Office website is loaded with very good information and clear instructions.

more good news
You may have seen the wire story about the little boy who "cried until he vomited" when his little dog, Snowball, was not permitted to get on the bus removing the family to safety. The good news is that Snowball has been located and is safe according to Dr. Martha Littlefield, Ass't State veterinary with the state of Louisiana. Efforts will now be made to reunite him with his family.


Morning Update, September 5:

The ASPCA has received at least 50 emails and calls regarding 50 to 150 animals stranded on the roof of the Windy Boggs Medical Center (AKA Murphy's Animal Hospital) on North Jefferson Davis Parkway in New Orleans. The animals are pets belonging to hospital staff, cared for by one dedicated doctor who purportedly refused to be evacuated with the other staff members. As a result, he and the animals were quickly running out of food and water.

As of Monday morning, a caravan of animal control vehicles, zodiac boats, equipment and personnel from groups including ASPCA, HSUS, Code 3, United Animal Nation, ARL of Boston and the Louisiana SPCA were en route to New Orleans to rescue the animals from Murphy’s Animal Hospital. The caravan will also pick up any animals they find stranded along the route.

The ASPCA and other organizations, including HSUS, Best Friends, United Animal Nation, Petfinder.com, are working to identify and log pets in need of rescue in affected areas. A database is being compiled and provided to animal rescuers, and will be posted on Petfinder.com shortly.

Louisiana
Good news! Thirty-five dogs have been loaded onto the Rescue Waggin in Gonzales, and are on their way to safe haven at the Houston SPCA! Additionally, 75 dogs have been rescued from the Superdome.

austin, texas
Good news from the Austin evacuation center, where the first evacuee dog has been reunited with his owner! This puppy's guardian is a 14-year-old girl, who arrived at the Austin evacuation center with her family members. The puppy was a gift from her father, whose whereabouts are unknown at this time.

The Austin Humane Society (AHS), in conjunction with The City of Austin Town Lake Animal Center and the ASPCA, has 75 evacuated animals in temporary care. Staffers are still working around the clock at relief facilities to help provide evacuee pets with a safe haven. AHS has set up a Pet Hotline (512-646-PETS) for evacuees moving to Austin who need to find care, placement and supplies for their family pets. Eight pets have now been reunited with their displaced owners.
Click here to see photos taken at the Austin evacuation center.

Morning Update, September 3:

As of Friday evening, we were close to one million dollars in donations for direct shelter grants! Thank you to everyone who has given so generously. If you would like to donate, you can call our toll-free number, (866) 275-3923, or give online. The more money we raise, the more we can help shelters in need—100 % of funds will be donated to shelters in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Several ASPCA National Outreach staffers spent a good part of Friday tracking down large, extra-large and giant collapsible dog crates that we could purchase and expedite to the Houston SPCA and the Louisiana SPCA staging area. We were able to locate and purchase 1,000 crates.

The PETCO Foundation has an additional 90 crates en-route to the Houston SPCA.

Pets in Distress (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) has food and equipment ready to ship to several points in Mississippi and Louisiana.

MISSISSIPPI
The ASPCA trailer arrived in Jackson, MS, at 9:30 Friday evening. They will keep us apprised of their efforts over the weekend.

The Mississippi Animal Refuge League (MARL) reports that HSUS and the State Dept. of Agriculture are operating an emergency shelter at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson.

There are 500-plus animals in Tyler Town, MS, evacuated from the Humane Society of Louisiana and the St. Francis Animal Sanctuary. They are in need of a generator and supplies.

LOUISIANA SPCA REPORT:
The Louisiana SPCA has begun rescue efforts for animals left behind in the Greater New Orleans area. Animals are being brought to the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, LA, which is serving as a staging center for displaced animals. They will soon be uploading photos of displaced pets onto Petfinder.com for people to look for lost pets.

HOUSTON SPCA REPORT
The Houston SPCA has been doing a heroic job taking in animals from the Louisiana SPCA staging area in Gonzales and from families seeking refuge in Red Cross shelters. As of Friday morning, the Houston SPCA had already admitted 700 animals and expects that they could receive 1,000 more. The Houston SPCA staff is working round-the-clock to care for animals so that families devastated by this tragedy will not also be confronted with losing their pets.

HELP FOR HORSES
Dr. Andrew Lang, director of the ASPCA Equine Program, will be issuing a grant to the Emergency Equine Response Unit to purchase “water buffaloes” (300-500 gallon tanks) and pumps, and an extra diesel tank for their truck, so they can head south to assist in the rescue efforts.

Late afternoon update, September 2:

As we write this, ASPCA Southern Regional Shelter Outreach Manager Laura Lanza is busy compiling lists to help with rescues and contacting local shelters in affected areas to determine their immediate needs. Having spent 18 years as a director at Calcasieu Parish Animal Services, Laura is very familiar with the Gulf Region, and has many friends and colleagues in the area. She is serving as the ASPCA point person for calls and email inquiries about relief efforts.

We'll be checking in with Laura as she begins to receive feedback from groups, and we'll share it with you. We know how frustrating it is for those who are so faraway, watching television reports and wanting to do something to help. Please check our website for updates often--we'll keep you up-to-date on new information, progress made, and ways that you can help.

AUSTIN, TEXAS
A large number of people and animals have been evacuated to Austin, where the Red Cross has set up a shelter for people at the Toney Berger Center on Highway 290. ASPCA Shelter Outreach director Karen Medicus, a former shelter director in Austin, is helping local groups coordinate efforts. Many people are calling the Red Cross, asking about shelter for their pets. They have identified a staging area for animals who may be brought here. We'll be checking with Karen for updates and pictures. For more information about efforts in Austin, call (512) 646-PETS.

JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
Our team of veterinarians, technicians and medical staff are right now on their way to Jackson. Soon to follow them is one of our ASPCA Cares mobile veterinary clinics.

Noon Update, September 2:

HOUSTON SPCA
The Houston SPCA has been working tirelessly to help the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina, and shelter staffers have taken on a lion’s share of the recovery efforts. They are housing 275 animals evacuated from the Louisiana SPCA, and last night alone they took in 300 more animals, including pets belonging to evacuees staying in Houston-area shelters.

The ASPCA has just purchased 300 crates, which will be drop-shipped immediately to the Houston SPCA. Additionally, both PETCO and ACES (Animal Care and Equipment Services) have been helping us with donations for shelters. PETCO sent the Houston SPCA 100 large dog crates, and ACES has contributed leashes.

Evening Update, September 1:

ASPCA ON-SITE EFFORTS
A group of ASPCA employees led by Kelly Harrington, director of the ASPCA Disaster Response Program, have left for Jackson, MS, to assist Code 3 with their rescue efforts. Accompanying Harrington are Humane Law Enforcement agent Richard Raheb; Margaret McLaughlin, director of Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital’s veterinary technicians; and Sandy Monterose, ASPCA National Outreach’s northeast manager. They are traveling in the fully equipped disaster vehicle, which includes a 40-foot trailer and a boat.

LOUSIANA SPCA REPORT
The ASPCA’s National Outreach department has at last made contact with Laura Maloney, executive director of the Louisiana SPCA. All of the shelter’s animals were safely evacuated, and the group is now concentrating efforts on helping remove and relocate other animals from the area. Maloney and some of her staff are using a horse farm in Gonzales, LA, as their staging area. Violence in the New Orleans area is prohibiting them from getting close to the city, and they were turned away by the State Police for safety reasons.

Other Shelters in Louisiana:
- The LA Humane Society has evacuated to Mississippi and all the animals and staff are safe. They have issued a bulletin for help.
-The Bert Smith Jefferson Parish Animal Services evacuated to Washington Parish in the town of Franklenton. Reportedly, things are deteriorating there. Plans are underway to evacuate them to Gonzales, where the animals can be evaluated and moved out to the Houston SPCA.
- There are still many shelters we have not heard from. Petfinder.com is maintaining a list of updates from shelters and rescues.

MISSISSIPPI
There has been almost no communication from the Humane Society of South Mississippi (Gulfport).

We will keep you informed as we learn more; please check back for the latest reports.


* Thanks to Rae Domingues for taking the photos at the temporary pet shelter at the BlackhamColiseum in Lafayette.




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Contact these organizations to help victims of Katrina
(partial list)

Save The Children
1-800-728-3843

World Relief
1-800-535-5433

Red Cross
1-800-435-7669

America's Second Harvest (Food bank)
(877) 817-2307

Habitat For Humanity
(toll free) 866-292-7892

Mercy Corps
1-800-852-2100

Feed The Children
1-800-525-7575

The Salvation Army
1-800-725-2769

United Way
1-800-272-4630

National Next Of Kin Registry
1-800-944-4804 (Number is for donations only)
This is completely volunteer operated, for more info go to the site.
~ Note: CNN has an alphabetical listing of hurricane survivors and their locations

Animal Rescue:
ASPCA
(866) 275-3923

North Shore Animal League

Noah's Wish

Strong words for the deserving...

Ok. I would like for Kanye West to explain to me how he gets off pointing the race card finger at the media, how he can honestly say the government doesn't care about its own people. I must be an idiot, because I don't see how looting anything not nailed down, setting fires to what buildings that are left, shooting at doctors and nurses, firing on buses and rescue helecoptors, and rape is gonna help New Orleans get out of this mess. How is all that gonna help? Explain this to me, Kanye West. Tell me how people are gonna bring food and medicine when the minute they show themselves, they're getting shot at?
Yes, the entire city is still in shock. I've seen the entire range of emotion.. fear, horror, people in mourning, anger, frustration, rage, relief... And federal relief may or may not have done what they should have, fast enough. What of some personal accountability? The stocking up on drinking water at least when there was absolute fair warning of the hurricane? There were two days to prepare, even for those with no way out. That's plenty of time to fill a duffle bag with water bottles, nonperishable food and supplies. The officials said all weekend this was gonna be big.
As for the looters, arsonists, rapists, snipers... I have nothing but contempt. They're supposed to be part of the community, supposed to be pulling together helping neighbors and fellow victims of this disaster. The segment of drug addicts within the city's population - the mayor even said this himself - are those individals who have gone over the edge in this crisis. It certainly explains a lot, but makes it no less wrong. To be honest, I don't even consider them petty criminals. To me, they are domestic terrorists interfering with saving lives.
So... this is my piece, this is my opinion. Kanye West, prove me wrong.

Insult to Injury

Good morning, America
your sons and daughters are missing...
your husbands and fathers
across the board - Good morning.
Where are your friend now, too
long without a word, not a word
unless its "Let them eat cake -
let them break and enter.
Give 'em the food and medicine,
let 'em take the VCRs, designer
clothing, what little their neighbors
have left and anything else not nailed
to the rotting floor.
Good morning. How are ya?
You know me. I'm the voice of America,
the pathos of your conscience, temperance
you fools. Compassion? Vindication?
Temperance amid the overwhelmed.

Well a few nice, cool days last week, but today the heat is brutal as ever. The forecast says its supposed to be down in the 70's most of the week - I hope they're right, it would feel good for a change. It could stay like that throughout fall and winter, and I'd be happy with the weather.
The bosses were back from their vacation at the beginning of the week. One of them says they all had a relaxing time of it... another says he needs a vacation to recuperate from the vacation, go figure.

It's been a busy week.. I pretty much always walk into a mess on Monday's. So I'm used to that.. but I've been spoiled throughout the week because they've sold so many pets, and the ferret cage has been empty nearly all week, until Friday when they also brought in 4 new cages of breeder parakeets and cocatiels. So Friday hit me unexpectedly, and so pretty much wiped out by the end of the day.
Not much besides that going on... Finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire last week, now I'm on The Order of the Phoenix... I WILL be current by the end of the season, I swear.

Yesterday watched Columbus get a must-win game to keep them in, they were playing FC Dallas... one of the Crew fans was shown holding a sight that said:
F*C* Dallas.... Go Crew! very clever, I thought. :)

Has anybody been watching some of the new reality shows this summer? Tommy Lee in college? Come on... I just hope some poor guy didn't get bumped from classes cause Tommy Lee took the last available spot, geez!

Robert finally got his hands on a borrowed copy of Clerks. I've been telling him about this movie for as far back as I can remember... Gonna watch it tonight. Lol, Kevin Smith rides again.

Not much new going on today... So here's a cute little something to finish off the weekend! Cat Mishaps

Whew, it's been incredibly hot this past week. Hazy in the early morning and by 9 a.m. the humidity is already in full force. I feel right at home! The weather in KC has always been just like this, lol. But as of yesterday they were having major storms out that way, so with any luck we may be getting some of that out here too, hopefully just enough to cool things off a bit

Soccer Saturday (on ESPN 2) yesterday showed DC United totally ripping up Chivas, which they completely deserved considering how dirty they were playing... come to think of it, Chivas played just as dirty the week before. So justice was done when United beat 'em 3 - zip. Amazing though how any of the players from either team didn't collapse from the heat considering it was 120 degrees there on the field.
Also, I hear USA qualified so far for the World Cup... looking forward to hearing more about that! And Robert is anxiously awaiting the start of the Hockey season, specifically the Flyers. After a year with no Hockey, he's more than ready for seeing some action on the ice.

Life at the pet shop has been a little crazy the past week.. too many of the staff have been on vacation, so it's been a little hectic. Some are due back tomorrow, so that should provide some relief. I learned the hard way this week, never trust a rabbit... long story, won't go into it here, lol.

This fall looks promising in the way of poetry events. There's some venues here in Cherry Hill sponsored by the library, then there's an annual deal called Mid-Atlantic Poetry Festival which is a day long event not too far from here. Then I've got submissions accepted by a friend in California who has just started a poetry magazine - by the way, he's accepting submissions for the second issue. So if you're interested, please feel free to contact me here or by email and I'll give you the particulars.

Speaking of spoken word, Def Poetry just aired its season finale last Friday. I believe America's latest catch phrase ought to be... "Oh Shit, Its Russell Simmons!" Just think of how far you could take that.. T-shirts, bumper stickers, coffee mugs, SNL skits... the possibilities could be endless. I just wonder how many people around here would "get" it, and give recognition to such a t-shirt, lol...

This Morning's Commute

It was mistaken identity
when someone lost their deck of cards
from a passing back seat window.
I know because the face-up
King of Clubs scream it from the curb
each and every time I walk by.
On the way to work
mid-morning - not early, not late
a lone goose on safari overhead
honks like an overexited puppy
eager to take the lead, and landing
just in time to goad the others,
take down the trashman at the dumpster
for his several bags of goodies.
And midway again - not early, not late
but already heat stifles the living
labored breath, and I remind myself
its not so much the weather but rather
some unexpected hot air having descended;
there must be an impromptu gathering
of republicans somewhere nearby, dressed in their
feathered finery, Sunday's best on a Friday
morning.... I'm cutting corners in a
series of shortcuts for even better time
and a brief respite of cool air just past
those doors before venturing back out.

Into The Solid

We are breezing into the heart
of a season, with the sound of
flutes from the wire
as background noise.
They are drum and pipes
and I am traveling through
my comfort zone with this
earful of all that I've missed.
It's been awhile, much like
forever and a day... when I go
there, where I go I'd want to
shout phrases of meaningful
sentiment... Aequitas! Then
name my places, here and Inverness,
Culloden, the Highlands, or Belfast.
We can follow a melody into sleep,
breeze here to there and through
the solid heat of summer.

Welcome to a new month already... We are breezing into the heart of summer, and although its foggy and a little cool this morning, the moment won't last long before temps reach the 90s. So now we go past the weather report and onto the next order of the day... I found a clever way to clean my computer monitor.. go to this link, check it out. You'll love it or die laughing... or both!

-- This is VERY cute!
Clean your monitor . This is very clever! It really works!!
I noticed that my monitor was not quite as clear as when we first got it. Apparently the electrons build up on the inside of the screen with time, and the picture deteriorates. I found a free program that I used to 'clean' the inside of the screen
and the improvement was quite noticeable. I highly recommend it. If you'd like to try it, simply click on the following link.
The program is free, works automatically, and takes only about 45 seconds to do its job.
http://www.legrady.hu/sc.html

I can't believe it's nearly August already.... we have already breezed through over half the summer and this past month has gone by way too fast. It's been a busy one with the animals at the Pet Shoppe and here at home; We've had some new litters with three of the guinea pigs and one of the rabbits had babies a couple of weeks ago. Everyone that comes through the back room nowadays heads straight to the bunnies..."Oh they're the cutest things in the world!" We had been worried that since it was her first litter, she wouldn't nurse, but she's doing much better than exoected, they're all thriving tremendously. One of them is a runt, the little guy was born with only one ear... and right away everybody's putting dibs on him to take him home once he's old enough, lol. Robert's been to see them once, before they'd opened their eyes, and I've been trying to get him back to the store to see how much they've grown - they're growing up fast, that's for sure!
And the conure, the one that's been driving everybody crazy with his eating habits, or more precisely, the lack thereof. Up till recently he's not been cooperating with our efforts to wean him off the formula mix... seemed satisfied to just let us keep handfeeding him (spoiled little brat) and totally ignoring the seed and dried fruit we set down for him... Last Monday he really gave me a scare. When I came in, he was huddled facing the corner of his cage, barely able to make a sound, couldn't stand, unable to hold his head up he was so weak... so I panicked and called the first person I could think of, one of the managers... by the time the owner came in, the little guy still couldn't take food... so he gave him some Enervite, which is a concentrated sugar solution for an energy boost, and that got him at least to where he was strong enough to eat something. And by the end of the day he was looking much better. So, I guess in the next few days he figured since he almost died from not eating, he finally started taking some of the seed on his own. Well... its about damn time! He really scared the hell out of me that day.. looked like he was gonna die on me any second.
As for the animals at home, it's been a busy month (and expensive) all starting with taking Sock in to the vet to get him fixed... they also noticed some irregularities from his bloodwork - so inbetween follow-ups and getting his shots current, Taz came down with a fever and just felt lousy there for a while... not eating, kinda glassy-eyed, and just basically hiding out from everbody... So its been Sock and Taz to the vet's all month it seems like. I'm just glad the little guy, Pablo hasn't gotten sick. Although, he's been having these sneezing-coughing attacks occasionally, but it doesn't seem to be slowing him down any... he's still terrorizing the other two the way he always has, lol.
With all this, I haven't written much and I've been kind of away from the groups.. its just been a hectic month.. Hope that now things have calmed down some, I'll feel more like writing... Just last night I had all these ideas in my head. Unfortunately it was right when I was trying to fall asleep and too tired and lazy to get back up and write 'em down. Let's just see if I can remember any of them, shall we? Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it, lol.

The Future In A Crystal Ball

The Future In A Crystal Ball

Late evening and the moon
rose low above the roses
hanging bright in my line of vision
made that trek across so much closer
to our horizon, toward the next grove
of trees, to be hidden -
and then sunk into sleep until
tomorrow's dark sky to return
and be seen in full crystalline glory.

Having Made A Choice

Isn't there still some voice of reason
weathering the time past, oppressive with anger

impressed upon this grudge-holding obsession,
and stalking the same spot some remain for life?

How much is the waste worth those forgetting
time here is short enough as it is, isn't it

enough to be left behind counting minutes, days...
Those hours spend having proved nothing

when you have nothing left to show for it all,
save the hate you play like some game

of putrid hackysack, preening vain
in malevolent discourse intent to display

some legendary show of strength
because when words fail, there's always threats

and when threat fails, there's always force
even when force fails you can always collapse
the floor where you stand...

What separates from the rants of spoiled
middle-aged children or the stereotype
of territorial pissing is the choice
to move on.

"No Green Day without Iggy"
I've been a fan for several years (seems like a lifetime) and last night I was lucky enough to catch performance footage from Belgium on VH1's Concert Classics... the songs went waaay back, some of the earliest Stooges stuff I ever remember hearing. Again, it seems like a lifetime ago, lol... Anyway, thought I'd share with you all one of my favorite albums of his. Not necessarily "commercial" but excellent work just the same. Check it out, I highly recommend it.
On a side note, the new kitten's full name is: Pablo Iggy Nukkinfutts... seemed very appropriate somehow.

A visit to the vet was in order for Sock... a neuter and current shots, etc.. He's been slowly recuperating the past few days and we've been trying to keep the other cats away from him... Maybe now he'll stop the incredible yowling late at night and the roaming through the house. Amazing how nice a full night's sleep is. Well I can only speak for Robert, because while he's getting to sleep, Pablo has been waking me up every morning at 3 a.m. either attacking my necklace or chewing on my earrings. Talk about a rude awakening, haha! The week before, Pablo's curiosity got the better of him while chasing a bee. Well he got stung a good one, and his whole neck swelled up to three times the normal size.. Robert said he was looking like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh... it was like he had three chins. Seemed alright otherwise... just kind of sore from it all, but he didn't have any other major reaction.

Robert's birthday is Monday, wanna do something special for him this weekend... fix a favorite dinner tonight. Still need to go shopping...

Well, with all decent news there must come some bad... my daughter's grandpa who lives in Boston, passed away on the 14th. She's doing ok, for the moment... Both her and her brother are going for the funeral, there's a group of them leaving for the airport this afternoon..

Sometimes a picture says more...
My thoughts are with friends in and around London.

Got a phone call from my daughter last night. Went to the balcony outside with the phone as it was turning dusk to continue the conversation, and as I was talking something like this landed in front of me... I remember all the years spent in Fresno they never had these, never collected them in jars as kids, just seeing them on summer nights was something I missed the entire time I was there. Then after I moved back to the midwest, problems and life in general became so chaotic I barely got the chance to enjoy it... Now that I can relax, let down some defenses, it seems almost a magical thing. I know it sounds cheesy, lame, sensitive, emo, whatever... But its my cheese, lol.
Anyway, my daughter sailed through an important job interview yesterday... things sound very prominsing... Its for a position in the photography studio at a local retail chain. Something in her field, which she has been wanting for so long. I'm really hoping they do call back like they say they will, because it wouldn't be just a job for her, it would be the perfect start to a career. So I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed for this. She should hear something good by Tuesday.. possibly to start Thursday.. :) My son is still training as a housepainter, I really hope he sticks with it.. the only thing is the heat... he's just gotta learn to deal.. this is the real world after all. Take the criticism, and all the good intentions that go with it - he's always had a problem with that... hope he sticks with it. Its a trade, a steady job.
Me, I'm still happy with my job at the pet shoppe :) I'm really getting attached to some of those animals, getting more in tune with their normal behavior, still learning... what it means when they do this... there could be a problem if they do that... All in all I wouldn't trade this job for any other in the world.
The weather here was rainy all day yesterday, heavy downpours courtesy of what was left of hurricane Cindy... I guess today the Florida Keys are feeling the effects of Dennis by now... hope everyone in the area doesn't get hit with too much damage.
Baby cat's doing great, little mischievious stinker! Always going after my necklace and earrings, trying to pull them out... Pablo, the kitten's name is Pablo... I like it better, and besides it was my first choice anyway. Maybe I'll post some pics of him one day.

Sand

I could write your name
in hieroglyphics within the dusting
of cricket sand on the floor,
let my fingertips become the paintbrush
creating hope in the moment's artistic design.
Let runes become symbols, become ancient
and changing as clouds protecting the evening
sun, let it become visual improv with
maybe a bit of the celtic thrown in
for good measure.
Cricket sand on the floor...
Would I eventually find some refracted
part of myself desparately competing
somehow for the you that isn't there,
the one that is missing inside your shell?
If I could come home to you,
love you the way I need to - not ever be afraid
of this inertia that happens when both of us
are unmotivated by fear.

I've been busy putting together a second book, "Seasonal." Seems I've forgotten just how long it takes just to put a collection together. There must be about 70 poems... I think I'll leave it at at that... no reason to go overboard, lol.
All in all, I feel these most recent few days have been very productive... Maybe now I'm getting out of my rut, so to speak.

Then again, who knows? I've been wrong before...

Only my cat understands me.

Yeah... I changed my blog template. Every customizable feature is temporarily gone... I'll put it back whenever I get the chance. Funny how I feel like an expendable feature myself these days.

Just A Taste

Got dark... just like that, its
brewing now with cardboard boxes
prevailing across parking lots
into oncoming traffic.

There are storms due tonight
with twelve year old kids
waiting to
ride bikes in the rain,
going over to a friend's
before the power goes.

Gargoyles on the patio
and figurines reading books
by candlelight;
kittens batten down hatches

against the squall by knocking
shelf-top ceramic brothers
to the floor before running
off to hide under sturdy furniture,

while garden gnomes peer in
from the outside warning us
of active funnels spotted in the
next county - just the smallest
bit of what its like.

This is what's hanging on our wall next to the dining table... Robert told me they had some framed prints at the supermarket last week, so he alerted me also to the fact that there was only one of these in the whole mess of Elvis's, Sponge Bob Squarepants, Barbie, and I think there was even a Minnie Mouse if I'm not mistaken, lol. Turns out he hid it very well from anyone else but told me right where it was, so I brought it home the other day, after work. I've seen that pic before, years ago somebody had it on their Xanga, and I'd always liked it. So now it seems a stroke of luck that we actually have it there to look at when we come home. :)

I come out here in the heat and breeze
out here where nature is at its best,
where in the morning a three-quarter moon
can still be seen as dawn breaks
within this line of vision.

Out here where the chattering of myriad birds
all hail a new day and compete to be heard
over the roar of a window unit and the
squawk of a parrot from the next lot over.

I come out here to write in the heat
where a breeze is more than a welcome friend,
where pilgrimages are made to these flowering plants
several times daily by bees and wasps,..

Out here where small peices of bread drop like
clockwork from a balcony somewhere overhead;
a treat for squirrels and their feathered homies.
I come out here to absorb and process
and find new ways to see.

George Lucas never saw it coming...
http://www.jokefrog.com/flash/store-wars.shtml

It seems like I haven't posted in forever...
Yesterday was the first day of summer, and last night's first full moon of the season... It came up low over the trees, you could barely see it. The day before, it was vanishing low as well. It's been really nice out too, the weather has cooled some (for the moment) and it's made for great sleeping weather.

They were shooting a commercial at the Pet Shoppe yesterday. I tried to stay out of their way, lol.. last week I was told that I might have to be in it if they didn't have enough people for the shoot. (Crossing my fingers I would be left alone, lol) Then in the afternoon, they come through my work area in the back "Well are you ready to be in the commercial?" I say, "... not really." :P Eventually he got someone else to use, what a relief!

Who needs a ferret when you can bond with a kitten?? Oh I still enjoy the ferrets at the Shoppe but I couldn't see having to keep it in a cage whenever nobody's home. And you'd have to watch them like a hawk to keep them out of danger, not to mention how they love to chew on stuff - and possibly swallow something harmful. I've been researching them for a while, there's just too many things you have to watch out for. You have to "ferret proof" your house even more than for a small child, cause they can get into places out of natural curiosity, and mischief - that could prove fatal - especially if no one knows they're there. Always a chance of them getting stepped on or smothered :( I wouldn't be able to deal with that. Sooo... when I noticed a super deal on some of the domestic kittens yesterday, I couldn't resist.
He's a super energetic flash of fur I'm calling "Bono" at the moment. I toyed with some other names... Pablo (Neruda), Vincent (van Gogh), Buk, Morrison (Jim or Toni) Lorca, Garcia, Giovanni... quite a list there, lol.

I've left many of the groups in Yahoo recently. There was one group in particular, well a couple that I was having problems in, so I decided to leave entirely. Then I got to thinking, I'm in so many as it is... I ended up cutting my list way down, just so I could focus more on the ones that mean the most. So I apologize if anyone's wondering why I up and quit their group for no aparent reason. Maybe sometime in the future, I'll rejoin a few. But at this point, it's not likely.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to get a DVD of Def Poetry 2nd Season... Robert brought it home last week, so I spend a good part of Saturday getting an overload on "spoken word" lol. Monday we popped in a tape of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. I've never seen it before, but I've always liked Jimmy Stewart. So that was pretty cool. Then last night after getting the kitten, we stayed up to watch Soylent Green and Westworld... Its funny that they showed those back to back like that 'cause years ago when those movies came out the first time, they showed them in that order at the drive in. Lol, I remember that line from the movie..."Soylent Green is people, it's people!!) Like that skit on SNL years later when they made fun of it and turned it to "Soylent Blue."

A Double

Who
takes the
prize today
and with what low
tactics have they earned
such small victories?
In themselves these
golden idols have spun
hypocracy,
fractions to
be called
"mine."

Go Anywhere

Go right, go left
there is no high road there
I'd rather find the place
where the grass is greener
on all sides of the tree
where even the reversals
can uproot themselves
and call it a day.
A new day has begun
and so I find moments
of the smallest victories
borne of temperance
unwarped by the base
urges of the right
always in the right
even when they're wrong.

Douche Envy

Merlin ma'am, I mean man...
A gentle spam by any other name
would still spit rhymes that bring him shame.
Now he's spinning his tires like a Nova that don't run,
thinks he's on fire putting together the sum
of all these lyrical points not making sense.
Gotta wonder how some fools can be this dense.

And I suppose
he's beside herself now...

I could have called you a cross-dressing freak,
wearing cosmetics you stole from the brink
of your sanity, or maybe an ex
who got wise to your flaming confusion of sex.
Now you stand at the mirror, your image a gender swap,
ain't no woman like the one you're not.

I Believe In Statements

I don't believe in the apathy of militant vegans
who tell the world passion is unreal, uncool...
This is where I'm from. This is where I stand today.

I believe that what you believe and what you have
done so far is in direct conflict with how your
actions explain what you can and what you will not do.

I don't believe I care to know the schizoid differences
between your myriad personae; a reclining Buddha and
wanna-be rapper, but I can guess the bottom line of them
all having found their comfort zone of unwillingness
to take positive action... on anything.

I believe in how the power of words spoken,
words read, words imagined
can rush a flame so spiked in adrenaline
it can blind one against his own humility.

I beleive in perspective,
I'm just a poet.
I believe in perspective.
This is where I'm from.
This is where I stand today.

I also believe
the reason this verse
is worth so much is because
its free.

I can't believe that when walking home
from work I spied a Chief's sticker
on a car with Jersey plates
which illustrates how rabid some
fanatics can stoop when completely
beaten at their own game.

This is
where I'm from.

Don't laugh - I was listening to ABBA nearly this whole weekend. Last night Robert and I sat down to watch a documentary on them and their music, Thirty Years of ABBA. There's now a stage production in several different countries, with the title of one of their songs, Super Troupers. I don't think they had a mediocre song in thier entire career, they were all hits. Well of course I posted the lyrics to some of my favorites of theirs in Bailey's, my poetry group. Every weekend there's a chance to post lyrics... so they were my choice this time.

Before that, we headed up to Target for some gardening stuff, came back with all kinds of supplies. I'm still amazed at how nice it is just to be able to go and bring something back for the house whenever you feel like it. I couldn't even think of doing that for such a long time. Its still new to me, but so nice. Already we have some flowering plants, geraniums and impaitiens, small pots of false aralia, and hedera ivy, which tends to climb so we got some bigger pots for them, a trellis for the ivy and a window box for some more flowering plants. Little by little its looking so nice out on the balcony. We go out there after dinner a lot to read and just sit and relax after work... I love that.

Finally caught up to the first show this season of Def Poetry. I am so exited by all that. It was Robert's first time to see anything like that, and he was duly impressed, I must say. I think he's hooked now as well, lol. Highlights: Avery Brooks doing a piece written by Ossie Davis, and Dave Chappelle doing some humorous bits about Ashton Kutcher. Next week I think they'll have Lemon on there, and Georgia Me. They're both good, but we're both secretly looking forward to seeing Suheir Ammad and Beau Sia. I'm tellin' you, don't miss any of these shows if you can help it. Def Poetry rocks.

Things are jumping at the Pet Shoppe, they got in about half a dozen new ferrets last Thursday, a baby conure, some cocatiels and enough parakeets to fill another huge birdcage. So things are getting busy... I'm trying to keep enough time left at the end of the day to be able to handle some of the added stuff they keep talking about. That would be the fish and reptiles. I'll keep the updates coming!

Where Were You When The Muse Hit The Fan?

My boyfriend tells me
we gotta keep low,
can't sit on the front stoop like before
enjoy the breeze, a reprieve from the heat.
There's been a rash of death-defying
rhyme-bys lately in the area.

They could come at dusk
or just before bedtime.
A slow cruising Mazda
or BMW.
As in stop motion anime
or deja vu matrix time
unnaturally out of sync
like a mad Godzilla line.
The glass descends and there appears
a moon in the window by mistake.
Oh wait, its just somebody's face.

Someone yells "Run!" and we scatter like flies
before its too late and we get hit with bad rhyme
but now the sequence has begun and in the back of your mind
a little bird tells you:
Time... Is on my side... Yes it is.

And the Buffalo stance has dropped his Buffalo bomb
letting the chips fall short where they may.
"The one good thing about these rhyme-bys, Hon
is that Buffalos never have good aim."

It was payday, so Robert and I went to the bookstore a few days early to pick up some books we had ordered.. the ones by Lorca, Camille Paglia, and a biography on Eudora Welty. We also found some classics, Dr. Zhivago, which Robert had always been meaning to read... He also found one called Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam (pictured above) Well, to me its a "classic." The poems in there, some of the same ones from the earliest beginning of the series - have a double impact on me because while I'm reading them over again, I remember seing each poet do the performance. So now I'm eagerly awaiting the fifth season of Def Poetry on HBO, which btw starts June 10th. I can't tell you how this one show brings such life back to words.. makes poetry accessible for so many.. Is proof positive that poetry is not dead, but alive, kicking, a scream, a whisper, taking names and coming back for more. I love this stuff!

A belated Happy Birthday to Beau Sia, whose celebration was yesterday... (one of the original members of the Def Poetry cast, and also one of my favorites)

Since we were at the mall yesterday, we I decided to show Robert the pet store where I work.. gave him a tour of the place. He was thoroughly impressed, how spacious it was. They used to be inside the mall itself, now they're at another location closeby and its got so much more room. So we browsed the entire front of the store, spent a lot of time at the dog and cat windows... the bird cages.. and of course the ferrets, lol. For some reason they were much more animated than usual... granted it was a little later in the day from when I'm usually there.. I guess they figure after a certain time, they turn into "show ferrets"... running, jumping all over the place... showing such excitement. Really funny to watch, and we had a good time, just being there.

A friend of mine from Kansas City (who's recently moved to California) is starting a poetry e-zine. He's been talking about this for a while now.. well the idea has been running for about a year, and now things are starting to fall into place. So if anyone wants more info on this, check out the recent post by epsilonakaeric at my poetry group Bailey's Java Cafe http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baileys_java_cafe

When I heard the learn'd astronomer - Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide,
and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with
much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

Well after weeks of the book sitting around, I finally finished Angels and Demons (Dan Brown) Amazing story in that it's realistic enough to where it could actually happen.. this has so many twists in it, right up till the end... a series of mind-blowers. Geez, you think you know a character in a book and then they go and do something like that! You just never know. So now I'm reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - I wanted to get the book finished before I even thought about seeing the movie. I hear a lot of people saying it stays pretty close to the book, so I might not even want to see the movie...

I hear we may get some storms coming our way later on tonight... We had one the other day that reminded me of tornado conditions... wouldn't that be wierd, twisters all the way out in Jersey.

I hope all of you had a safe Memorial Day weekend. I know the police stepped up like they usually do, to issue fines to those not wearing seat belts. Not to mention catching drunk drivers and red-light runners like the one I saw a few days ago... easy to spot too, he was the only one on the road, no traffic at all to speak of, and there was the cop just waiting for someone to mess up. I saw him as he went by and thought "what a dumbass..." Sure enough the cop pulls out to pull him over. A quota beyond easy.

I'm really hoping that June turns out a lot warmer than this month. I'm still wearing a jacket in the mornings, when it's been overcast and rainy. Bleh.. I'm ready for summer.

Sat down to watch a movie last night, and partway through it, I get a phone call. The voice on the other end says "Hey, turn your TV on to USA real quick." So I say, "I'm already watching Braveheart." My daughter had Tim, her boyfriend call to tell me this, since she couldn't pull herself away from the movie... It seems to be one of hers (and mine) favorite movies..

Next month they'll be adding more tasks for me at the pet shop... to include fish, reptiles and snakes. Not too sure about this... but I'll manage. I'll just have to rearrange the times and days I do everything else... I just worry that some cages won't get clean often enough... Oh well, we'll see what happens.

One Cliche Beyond Easy

Have them play Free Bird
or Sweet Home Alabama
Run like jagged glass
through a false sounding stanza
Mock up 50, Puff, Coolio or Eminem
Achieve enlightenment with
rhymie-rhymes but this ain't no zen.

Spill a cliche like
you haven't heard it before,
I found 'em all dazed and
trampled on the floor
When the flow went awry
in boredom still they wouldn't budge,
like some huge ego trapped in
the role of jury and judge.

I've never seen
so much the strongest stance
of that where wise thoughts
and action fly by chance,
just more of the blind
buffalo stampeding run.
Should just stick a fork
in his ass to see if he's done.

(This is also so much beyond fun, a war of wits with an unarmed man)

It has stopped raining, the sun is shining, the birds are singing.. and its going to be a beautiful weekend... And now for the important news of the day. I just got my pdf file sent by HBO of the upcoming June schedule... And hey I know this pic is just HUGE but, I've been waiting for what seems like forever on this fifth season. Awesome, total awesomeness here...

Disappointed in myself because I haven't been writing like I think I should.. not as much, anyway. I also haven't devoted much time to reading.. I've been on the same book now for what seems like a month. I've put it down... and it stays down. I'm off and away on junk time wasters, like crossword puzzles and just browsing the internet. I was doing yoga too, but I've gotten out of that for a little while. Maybe I'm just being lazy, or maybe its all just bad time management. :(

But on the other hand, I've started a new poetry group for us local writers in Cherry Hill. We've had two meetings so far and it seems to be working really well. They're actually just informal get-togethers, just to chat and discuss what's going on with each of us. This past Tuesday was the second one scheduled. We had it at Dunkin Donuts so it was nothing fancy, which is good 'cause its just a place to meet and relax.Eileen was there... Robert came along this time, I was glad, and he really enjoyed it. There was also another member to show up, Moriah. So all in all I think it was a great evening.

This weather... I keep waiting for a break in this cloudy, rainy... bleh type of days. They had a little reprieve from it a few days ago, so the apt. complex hired contractors to come repave the entire parking lot. But even then, they were rushing to beat the rain. Plus it's still chilly, jacket weather. I was thinking coming home from work yesterday - how its almost June now, but you can't tell it from all these lower temperature and chilly rain... just nasty, I tell you.

Oh, my son got me good... He posted on Xanga a poem (lyrics) I thought he wrote. And he let me believe that he actually did write them.. I was impressed. Until the next day he posted an edit on the blog that it was not his. Actually an old set of lyrics from Blink 182... one of their first albums, he says. I wouldn't have thought anything about it.. but he'd actually told me he wrote it. Oh then he says "yeah, but I had you going for a little while, huh?" Hmm.. not even a lie of omission. That bothered me.

Well, I'm getting used to the routine now at the Pet Shoppe... I still love my job. I'm going in every morning looking forward to dealing with the ferrets.. they are the most mischievious little buggers.. cleaning the cage, I can't get anything done because they're right there where I'm trying to clean, lol.. just as soon as you push them back, here they come again. One of the babies will even grab my sleeve and hang on while I scoop out the bedding. I guess you'd have to be there to see it. Lol, scoop, lift, dump... and he's hanging on to my sleeve the entire time.

Cumulus

Looking through nature
with a camera eye,
everything is more real
just before dusk.

Think of frayed cotton by the
light of the moon, try to
pick out these shapes the way
you always can in dimly lit
noisy rooms; like patterns
in the grain of tabletops
you can pick out
whenever you want.

Last night the stars
were throwing themselves
against the clearest sky
and we watched as they
moved across minutes,
hours.

New Poetry Group

A group of local writers and poets in and around Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Post a poem, or just read one... Join in book discussions, help plan informal meetings with other members of the group. Relax, enjoy the imagery and art of words... Have fun with poetry, hear it, speak it, make it a part of your life... Written, spoken, shouted, performed, whispered, it all begins with a thought. This ain't your great-grandfather's poetry, this is accessible.

I can just imagine... "Hey, Ferret face!" I was handling some of the younger ferrets that recently came in to the store. And while I was holding one of them, he jumped up and bit me in the face. And wouldn't let go till I tapped his head. He did it once more and I had to tap him on the nose for doing it. Little bugger! Didn't hurt, it was just more of a surprise than anything else. Lol, if I'd have dropped him he would still have been hanging there not letting go. Some of them have to be disciplined just like little kids.... cause that's what they are to me, I think of them as just little people... with fur. :)
Somebody came in yesterday and bought the Parrot.. the one I was trying get to talking.. was repeating the same thing hoping he'd repeat it back to me. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!" Well he's got a permanant home now and will be well taken care of.

Hey, what happened to the Spring? I know I'm still waiting for the warm weather to make an appearance... I also know that once summer is in full swing, I'll be wishing for some relief from the heat. Just wish it would get a little warmer soon. With all this rain lately it seems that it's cooling things down a little too much.

I'm still thoroughly enjoying my job at the Pet Shoppe. I still love the hours, the days are busy. Mondays especially, after those few days when hardly any of the cages get cleaned. So I've been told "assume nothing gets done" over the weekend; it makes for a very busy start to the week. But I wouldn't want to be working anywhere else, I just love it.

I haven't written too much this past week, poems or otherwise. I ended up quitting one of the poetry groups. I'm sure it steamed them to no end that I never posted all that much... but I didn't post any less in that one than I posted in any of the others and never got called down for it like this. Oh, well. It's better this way.

Robert popped in a DVD last night. A couple of weeks ago we watched The Lord of The Rings, since I've never seen any of them yet. Last night it was LOTR: The Two Towers, and again I was blown away by the scenery. Love the story too, I've never read Tolkien either. Next week we'll go for the third one, really looking forward to that.

These two cats, I swear... there's the one who can't get enough cat treats and always seems to be begging for another one. Then there's the finicky one who I'm sure he thinks the treats must be poison or something since he'll turn his nose up every time... But he's coming around slowly but surely, getting used to the idea of somebody new paying him attention. I've even got him to playing with one of the interactive toys now, when he used to run and hide from it. Lol.

Night And Day

If looks could kill
I'd be dead a thousand times over.

He's watching the outside now
and jealousy rears its head
again with eyes and ears on full alert
from the sameness of the INSIDE
he's watching the other one
fulfill a leisurely pace, they're
peering through glass doors
at each other, then a stretch
and another look over the shoulder
before replaying full relaxation...

We call this one
"screaming white south Jersey fox"
for the times he opens his mouth
in protest, the noise is relentless
as if he carries intricate conversation
with himself that he alone can
understand; it's a wonder how even
he can hear himself think
of what to say to us next.

It's a bright sunny day on the balcony
and the lucky one has found laziness
enough to sleep and dream
of four rats in a coconut boat, maybe
a hairless one lounging in a hammock.

Pity, just moments before
there was a question of integrity
and talk of impending upset
when that self same fat cat
pounced on an unstable table
for want of a treat. You know...
he's been searching high and
low for those things, they appear
as if by some magic rain inside
the house.

I Was Listening

Close your eyes...
Your dreams can be
inspired by sound.

When you play a rythm
of sixteenth notes
it'll be a cadence to
get the blood pumping,
add meaning to the wisp
of a feeling that lives
and brings purpose
the way you've done.

Awestruck, I listened
when it all came back
and circled like wings
in flight through the air
of this room.

I was listening
and you were oblivious
to everything in that moment
save chord and structure
and strumming, strumming
I wouldn't have you
any other way.

Just realized I haven't posted in five days... I guess I was busier than I thought. Had a great week though. I'm at a place now where I can actually say I love my job... and mean it. I'm even getting used to the Parrot sitting on my head when I'm cleaning out his cage... Or should I say he's getting more used to me. And the ferrets. They sold one last week, they're down to three now. And also last week they got in several dogs and a few kittens, a couple of akitas and papillons.. well they sold the two papis in as many days. Cute ones they were.

The weather has been awesome.. more and more like spring now. It just seems like there've been too many false starts with the weather, but I'm hoping its stays nice like its been for the past few days.

Robert got another day off this week as well. I'm glad he's been able to do that, since it's supposed to be busy with people going out of town in the next couple of weeks. So I told him he should rest up for it now while he has the chance. I'm hoping that eventually he can at least take every other Sunday off now with me working, it'll even out with the money coming in.

Last night I had a horrible dream involving one of the ferrrets and a snake. Somehow one of the snakes got loose and also for some reason one of the ferrets was running around in the store... they both ended up in the back room in the doorway, but the snake was curled around the swinging door while the ferret had its back to it, facing me. So I reach to grab the ferret and the snake sinks its teeth in my hand, I had to physically remove him with my other hand and while I was doing that, the ferret thinks I'm playing so he comes back to where all the action is... I reach again to get him out of harm's way, and the snake bites me a second time. By this time I'm calling for somebody to come get the ferret. Finally one of the ladies comes back to get the little bugger and tells me "just be sure you get all the poison out..." What a nightmare. I'd hate to come to work tomorrow morning and there'll be a ferret missing. I'd almost be afraid to ask if somebody came in and bought one, only to find out that something else happened to it. :(

So... has anyone been keeping up with Survivor Palau this season? The finale and reunion is tonight... I'm thinking it's gonna be Tom who'll win. With the two hour finale and then the hour-long reunion, it's definitely gonna be quite the evening of TV watching. It's really gonna seem strange next week with Thursday nights free... we'll all have Survivor/CSI witdrawal. But I'm thinking next month will be the start of the new Def Poetry, so I'm really looking forward to that.

Lemmings Away

You go through, go through
and live through the everyday
grind
of your life. Then one day you
find technology simplified
at your fingertips.

So you begin to chronicle your events,
your ups, downs, your good and bad,
even those ugly, uncertain days
full of doubt;

do the best you can to minimalize
esteem, however often you choose...
To reach inside, pull out as much
as you see fit.

Spill your very guts -
some of us more than others,
in art and the beauty of words
that travel with sincerity and
true meaning, loving life for
the revel in experience,
exploring deep how one can paint
without actual pigment, create
pictorials from the barest
figment or breath of imagination.

Using the mind, the mind's
description
can be an awesome thing...
Stunt yourself with the vague
myriad many, many, many ways
to parrot the same message
in the sing-song sloppy-joe
slang and you absolutely
refuse to grow.

Well my first week on the new job is over, and what great week it was... In between cleaning cages, watering and feeding everybody, getting the work area organized, I've had to hunt for a bird that escaped, been bitten by a rat, juggled ferrets and mice, (not literally, mind you!) and made friends with the resident Parrot. He'll sit on my shoulder all the while I'm getting food for the other birds.. still there when I'm sweeping up.. he's got personality, thats for sure. They're hoping to get him to start talking eventually. My goal is to teach him to say "Here, Kitty, Kitty!..." They want me to talk to the other birds too, so they'll get used to humans. I can just see it now, reciting poetry to them while I'm in there, lol. Not a bad idea actually. And the ferrets, those little mischievious creatures that they are... Every morning I'm telling them, "Hey guys, I'm trying to clean up here!" So I'm constantly pushing them out of the way, lol. But who couldn't love those little faces!
Thursday morning I found a wonderful card Robert had left on the table... (sigh) So sweet, that card says it all. And after work he had dinner ready, did the dishes. Later while we were watching something on TV, he's offering me a foot massage.. felt sooo good, too. Such a sweetheart, :)
The weather has been chilly this past week and I'm wondering what happened to Spring? I remember those few days it turned out really nice and warm, enough to where we even had on shorts out on the balcony. Well I'm hoping that the forecast is correct, that we'll get temperatures up in the 70's for next week.
I'm still trying to get a decent routine going, what with the new job and all. I have to settle in and find time to write, and up till now its been hard to concentrate on it. Robert tells me its just been the stress of not having a job for so long and the moving and all. And he's right, there has been a certain amount of stress with all that, I just didn't realize it. It was more that I didn't have a job, and it was taking so long to find one. But I'm really glad I was able to wait for a decent one that I knew I'd enjoy.. That way it seems less like "work" or a "grind" than if I'd stayed at the diner or even working at the mall in Moorestown. So it took a bit of time, but now things are working out, and I couldn't be happier! Well that's all for this update... Take care, everybody. I Bid You Good Day!

Its raining and the weather's cool in New Jersey, but its Spring and the trees have filled out with leaves. Enjoy the flowering ones, they remind me of Fresno's white apple blossoms that only last a few weeks, same as here. Enjoy the fact that, like the midwest there are lightening bugs in these parts (something Fresno didn't have, lol.) We even have a plant for the balcony, went to the store yesterday and picked up a hanging basket of geraniums. My mom always had geraniums in her garden... she'd start them from seed indoors right before Spring, and then when the warm weather hit, she'd plant them outside.
I have fantastic news. I got the job I was hoping for, I start Monday. I am now the Pet Shoppe's small animal caretaker. :D I'll be cleaning cages, socializing ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters and rabbits.... birds, cats, dogs. Feed and water them as well as the reptiles, spiders and scorpions. Scorpions?! (Hey now wait a minute...) They assured me that I won't be required to handle them. The only thing would be to lift the lid and pour water into a bowl. But all in all a decent job, and one that I've wanted for a long time.
So to celebrate, Robert suggested going to Dunkin Donuts for their new Banana flavored iced latte. Kind of disappointing, not much banana taste to it, just the coffee and chocolate mostly. But, aahhh...coffee. And even though Robert didn't finish his, he still felt the effects of the espresso (which is pretty much the strongest coffee you can make.) So we ended up tossing a Frisbee around in the side parking lot to expend some of the caffein, lol. It was fun, I hadn't done that in such a long time.
The other day we brought home a DVD of The Boondock Saints and watched it... then got to thinking about how long its been since any news of a second movie, so I emailed the question of "Will there even be a sequel?" to Troy Duffy (the director.) A few days later I got a response. So here it is from THE SOURCE, there will be a sequel, entitled All Saint's Day.... eventually. No specific release date, but at least its something to look forward to. I was (pleasantly)surprised I got a response at all. If you haven't seen Boondock Saints, I highly recommend it... Robert thoroughly enjoyed it, saying the direction reminded him a bit of Tarantino... I just have to say it's still one of my all-time favorites.

Buia

This is for the touch,
either yours or mine...

The tangible comes with a smile
just after a back massage has begun
and you drop your Pringles
on the floor.

Instant relaxation
this good is a virus,
contagious with all that can be
caught and settled into the word
"content" and a joyous soul.

This is for the morning's
half-moon I can barely see
through approaching rain clouds
that look over you on your way.

This is for when we are old
and the future is now...

And this is for the full greening
of trees as we look out over
pavement to the next yard
and sigh with the realization
of warmer weather.

I have some hopeful news to report. Last night I got a call from a place where I turned in an application a few days ago. The Pet Shoppe, here in town... wanting me to come in for an interview at 2 this afternoon. I can't believe I almost turned them down outright for that mall job in Moorestown. But when I got off the phone, I stood there thinking, "What the hell did I just do?" And Robert was looking at me in shock... So I'm saying, "You know, I think I need to call them back right now." The hours would be Monday through Friday, 9-5, taking care of the animals... I'm really hoping they offer me this job, cause the more I think about it, the more perfect this sounds... I've wanted this type of job for years, even back before I was working out at Lee's Summit... (I used to tell everyone it would be my dream job.) And the hours are great, I wouldn't even mind working over, or on the weekends as well. Plus its close, here in town and all... wouldn't have to take the bus. Ooohh... I want THIS job.

Got all set to watch Survivor last night, and there were people setting up the podium for Bush to talk on Social Security.. We sat through that, hoping they would still air the show...
Has anyone been keeping up with Survivor this season? They voted off Steph... those Bastids! I would have much rather seen any of those two minor characters go instead. Now it'll be down and dirty for sure. I'm thinking Ian and Tom will be struggling to keep afloat now with strategy. I'd like to see Tom win, but Ian is a close 2nd favorite of mine at this point.

And I'm still waiting for Russell Simmons' Def Poetry. I got the full HBO schedule for May, and it wasn't listed. So I'll keep my fingers crossed for June. How dare they make us wait! Lol. I know not many people in the poetry groups I'm in watch that, or are into live readings like that, but I just have a feeling that if they watched a few times, they would surely be hooked from then on.

The weather here has been cool, almost chilly. Its supposed to rain tonight but hopefully after that there will be some more sunny weather. I've noticed the trees have really filled out - this just in the past few weeks. I can remember when there was still snow and the ground, and plows making paths through the parking lot. Yeah, Spring is a lot better. :D

What a difference a day makes... I got a call today on the phone and it was someone from another mall where I applied for janitorial positions... I didn't think too much about it before, because they had said all they had was part-time, maybe 2 days a week.. Well they called back today and offered me a full-time position, and day hours, which would be perfect.. All I need to do now is some of the preliminary stuff and I'll be working again... This is great news for me... I needed something, anything to get me out of the house in the mornings. Whew, it's just been too long without a job! Thank God this is all working out now.

Whew, busy day yesterday. A lot of walking.. all the way to Pensauken. All in all, after such a dismal start, it turned out to be a pretty good day.
I finally made my last call to Kennedy Hospital, found out they've been lying to me all this time about there even being a job position open. In one day it went from them telling me "yes, we do have openings in housekeeping." to "That's not true." What kind of assholes do they have running the place? Forgive me, I still can't help being bitter about the whole thing. I can only hope I find something else soon so that if they ever called me back with an offer I can laugh in their face. But it left me just at a total loss wondering where to go next. I was in tears the rest of the morning. (Damn them) But by the afternoon, things were starting to look up. Robert invited me on a hike to get some paperwork done. It was a long trek, windy on the way there, but a very good experience. It was good for me to get back out, expend some energy, cause otherwise I would have been just sitting there at home feeling sorry for myself. On the way there, I was keeping track of some of the new places I could go to apply; some hotels where I could find a job. That would be a hike, but I think it would be a good thing. After all, I was doing pretty much the same thing back in Independence. A 45-minute walk to work, so I know I could do it. I enjoyed it then, I know I could now. The only thing I didn't enjoy about it was facing the monster new management. That was a nightmare (HCA). Also not too far from the mall is where the pet store relocated into a bigger place. So I figure I'll try there today.
On the way back we passed a WalMart supercenter. Robert said he'd never been in there, so we did some shopping; new clothes. Awesome, although I'm not used to that... It was really nice. Robert got him some new jeans for work, and some stuff for here at home.. I got some new tops and jeans... gotta take the jeans back though cause they're too big. Maybe by some miracle they'll have the same brand in my size, although I have yet to find them for the past couple of years now. They seem to have all of a sudden discontinued the smaller sizes. Its a shame too, cause they're reasonable.
Went home and had dinner... then afterward, Robert surprised me by suggesting a trip to Tower records, where we found the Boondock Saints DVD.. and the Incredibles.. Oh and Laura, I finally got the Greenday CD, so you don't need to burn it for me after all.... the new U2.... Lacuna Coil... the new My Chemical Romance.
After scoping out all the new places yesterday to go now, I'm ready to face things with a new zeal, not giving up. So I'm off to conquer my little part of the world, the one where I become an employed person again.

I finally got my two author's copies of my book today. I was anxious to get them, and I'd been hoping they'd show up before now... like in time for the poetry meeting here for local poets that took place last Wednesday. But today here they are; I happened to look outside the door and there the package was. Robert was asleep in the next room, and I came close to waiting till he got up, to open it. As it was, I just stared at the envelope for several minutes after I sat down and remembered to breathe, lol. Then I figured "why wait?" So I tore open the envelope and then there they were, seeing the light of day, in fresh air once again. Wow, just wow... Talk about overwhelming. Now I figure I should find the best way to promote it... Maybe the only limits are really how creative you want to be. Anyhow, this was absolutely the highlight of my day.

Gazing at Night

I wrapped myself around a star, secure
in the essence of how long it took
to find; long as it was to belong
here in peace, in this comforted aura
showing itself deep... deep.

I am still learning;
but how I love the knowledge
for its sake alone, how I
treasure it enough to whisper
this trace, these fingertips
on skin of the star I've wrapped
myself around and come home to.

Pic is from the Weekend... the game ESPN2 didn't air on Saturday. Too bad... my two favorite teams, the Wizards and Metrostars ended in a 2-2 tie.

But, in the game we DID see, the one in Salt Lake City, the stands held a sell-out crowd of 25,000. Did anyone hear that? I said it was filled to capacity, dammit! Just a note to all those out there who always said soccer would never amount to anything, who based the future popularity of the sport on an off day with less than ideal fan turn-out. Bah, look at those numbers now.. :P


A good friend in Fresno, CA sent me this greeting. He's always been good with a camera. As far as the note on the card goes, only time will tell... I really have no idea how its gonna feel when I finally get to look at that book. I'm thinking maybe sometime this week I'll find out for sure!

I was browsing my Xanga, found this...Oh Dam! Too funny, way too funny!

Watched Columbus beat D.C. United last night. I'd forgotten how much fun just seeing the games are, after being away from it so long... all that time of never really getting to watch TV, or at least a lot of what I wanted. Its just good to do that again. I've really missed the MLS... and it seems a lot has changed. One thing though, there's a game between KC and the Metrostars tonight. And although I won't be able to see it (without watching it on pay-per-view and pay a whopping $20 just for one game.) I'm so far undecided about who I'd want to win. Nah! I'll stay true to My Team... Go Wizards! Apparently ESPN will be showing games on both Fridays and Saturdays, so there will be more than enough action to provide my Soccer fix!

I had my hopes up for the last few days about a job that was close by... a pet facility/day care called All Good Dogs, that would have been a perfect job for me went by the wayside. I called for the last few days, and when I called the last time they told me the position had been filled. Damn. That and the way the hospital personnel office has been just kind of makes me feel like I'm invisible. I mean they've had housekeeping positions open for over two months now, and still seem unwilling to fill them. But finally I've still been keeping in touch with the manager at the grocery store, who tells me there's an opening in their bakery dept. (part-time, weekends and holidays) Not much, but better than nothing. I should hear something by noon today.

I've been eagerly awaiting some of that warmer weather we had a taste of a few weeks ago. They say it'll be here this weekend with temperatures close to 80. Good news there, I hope they're right.

Do you live in Wisconsin? Would you like to see this animal get shot? Would you like your kids to see this animal shot? In Wisconsin, hunters are one step closer to being allowed to do just that... Click the link and read more. Ridiculous, just ridiculous.
Yahoo News Story

Well after those three horror filled days, I've quit the diner because:
1. My coworkers seemed to have issues with each other resulting in paranoia, thinly veiled threats, shouting matches in the kitchen. I thought it best to get out before I ended up on somebody's shit list, lol.
2. The cooks couldn't (or could but refused) to speak English. Huge barrier there.
3. I took "any shift" to mean a set shift.(ie; 7-3, 3-11, 11-7) as well as to be a standard 8 hours. Apparently management's definition was based on less rigid guidelines... 5pm - 3am or longer is not my idea of ideal.

So on to bigger and better things... I'm just glad I had the option not to stay. I'm still waiting for word from Kennedy. It's been nearly a month and a half now and all I get is some "gatekeeper" on the phone who keeps saying the same thing, just leaves me with no real information. So far nothing available at the mall either... and that had looked promising too. I'm still putting out applications to different places... maybe some of those will work out.

I did find an opening at a new pet sitting service, All Good Dogs Daycare that just happened to post an ad in yesterday's paper. As it happens, the place is right across the street from me. I'm supposed to hear back from them sometime today, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. This would be as close to my dream job as I've ever gotten. Would just love to work with animals.

I'm expecting my two author's copies of "I Am Ready" hopefully sometime next week. Today or tomorrow would be even better. I try to imagine how its gonna feel once I hold my own book in my hands. It's just... I'm not gonna know how to react until it actually happens.

I've been (slowly) memorizing some old poems I like. Robert's doing the same thing, only he's leaving me in the dust on this... I think he's got three already set to memory, to my one. Lol, so far I've just got "Aquainted With The Night" by Robert Frost.

I've got to rethink this whole "Meet-up" thing now... They have it now to where coordinators have to pay a yearly fee to use MeetUp. I'm not doing it. We only have 4 in the group, that's not enough people to warrant having to pay a fee just for the name "MeetUp". There's other alternatives for basically the same thing.

Caution Crossing

Incoming... he's on a mission,
ready to commit Hari-kari
if need be.
Incoming, was heard before seen,
it's all instinct from here.
A conscious deviation from
his scheduled formation
with a constant series
of annoying honks, he's
flight rage incarnate...
Maybe he's had a bit too much
to drink, or has the most
unfortunate fear of heights.
But here he is, incoming
with a quick descent,
neck outstretched and
sharpened beak poised for
some serious cross goosing.

Unconditional

Someday I will take and hang
my pictures on walls of memory
for you to call up those dreams
at will, when visions are of
such gifts.
Someday I will read to you
sonnets of Shakespeare so that
the reminders of tragedy need
only to remain in the past,
a reminder that what I offer
asks nothing in return, of how
love gently surrounds you
and is lasting.
And here, hoping beyond hope
for the day you look toward
sunlight and find the happiness
that was lost in darkened rooms
so long ago, for the someday
I will sing to you all the love
songs you need to hear.

-- An old post from a few years ago... something good got me thinking how the past lays steps and foundations for the here-and-now, and for the brightness of what-happens-next. This one's for my Irish.

Well, my book cover finally went to print. Now the book is available online through Publish America (publishamerica.com). I'm so pleased with how the whole thing turned out... its almost unreal. Excuse me while I celebrate... *YEAH!...Woo-woo-woo...(various hip-hop gestures: raise the roof, etc..) Unbe-LIEV-able! YEAH! :D Yes!*
Ok, I think I'm better now with some of this out of my system. Just thought I'd make that little announcement there. I'm all smiles.
Work went a little better on my second night. The hours still suck, it doesn't leave much time for me and Robert to spend together, but I have to remember, this job is really only meant as a temporary thing till something better comes up, like the hospital, or the supervisory position at the mall.. Those hours would be so much better, too. I'm used to getting up early, early - not staying up past midnight before coming home. Well, its better than nothing I suppose.

What a long night it was, I didn't get home till almost midnight. I started a new job yesterday at a local diner just up the street. I'm lucky to find someplace so close. But the hours kind of suck. I just need to remember that this won't be a permanant post, and that hopefully someone from the housekeeping dept. at the hospital will call for me to come in for an interview... or even the guy at the mall. Come to think of it, I should just go ahead and call him, to see what's up. Maybe I'll get lucky and there will be that opening. I really would be more comfortable doing that kind of work... at least with that, I know what the hell I'm doing, lol. Plus the hours would be so much better. I'm not the night owl I used to be waaay back when. I was kind of unprepared as far as a uniform... I borrowed a white shirt, black pants, and a tie. Yes, a tie. I feel so Avril Levigne now.
It's beautiful weather the last couple of days. The afternoons have been so great, sitting out on the balcony just taking in the sun and a good book. I even went and got some sunscreen just in case, cause Robert and I both burn so easy. It was really getting hot, even - and its still only Spring yet. Last night things cooled off quite a bit with the rain. Today it's been cloudy with continuing rain. But even that feels nice.

My horoscope for yesterday should have read: "Beware of overprotective geese while you are out and about..." Because while walking from the bakery to the mall yesterday afternoon, Robert and I were almost attacked by one very angry goose. Lol...Great. Now instead of the territorial stray dog I used to occasionally contend with, these days I'll have to look up to fend off some personal air raid, a dive-bomb from overhead. Guess we were too close to his nest, because way down in the gulley, there was a female roosting. Apparently there's already been a few people attacked in the mall parking lot, just after getting out of their cars. Guess it all depends on where they park...

I've been trying some different things lately... Yoga, new ideas for my poetry group, memorizing certain poems - just to know I can do that. I may have picked the wrong poem to start with though, because of the way it's written.. people just don't talk like that anymore, with the "doth" and irregular placement in context of certain words. I wasn't fully aware of how hard this was till I was called upon out of the blue to recite this thing. And you know, my mind drew a complete blank even though just that afternoon I could recite the damn thing word for word. I think maybe it's cause I was just caught off guard.

Tried to catch the beginning of a movie on cable I wanted to see, the one about Sylvia Plath was on HBO last night but didn't start till 10 pm. After about 20 minutes I knew I wasn't gonna make it till the end. I'm always missing movies - omg, I'm notorious for falling asleep trying to watch something on TV. So I went to bed before that happened. Good thing we have it on DVD, I really was enjoying it. When they started spouting out poetry, just off the top of their head... and getting passionate about it... DAMN! It was like watching Def Poetry... only difference was they were reciting other's work instead of their own. Yeah, I'm definitely gonna catch the rest of that movie soon.

8 Fragments for Kurt Cobain by Jim Carrol

1
Genius is not a generous thing
In return it charges more interest than any amount
of royalties can cover
And it resents fame
With bitter vengeance

Pills and powders only placate it awhile
Then it puts you in a place where the planet's
poles reverse.
Where the currents of electricity shift

Your body becomes a nagnet and pulls to it despair
and rotten teeth,
Cheeze Whiz and guns

Whose triggers are shaped tenderly into a false
lust
In timeless illusion

2
The guitar claws kept tightening, I guess, on your
heart stem.
The loops of feedback and distortion, threaded
right thru
Lucifer's wisdom teeth, and never stopped their
reverberating
In your mind
And from the stage
All the faces out front seemed so hungry
With an unbearably wholesome misunderstanding

From where they sat, you seemed so far up there
High and live and diving

And instead you were swamp crawling
Down, deeper
Until you tasted the Earth's own blood
And chatted with the buzzing-eyed insects that
herion breeds

3
You should have talked more with the monkey
He's always willing to negotiate
I'm still paying him off...
The greater the money and fame
The slower the pendulum of fortune swings

Your will could have sped it up...
But you left on an airplane
Because it wouldn't pass customs and immigration

4
Here's synchronicity for you:

Your music's tape was inside my Walkman
When my best friend from summer camp
Called with the news about you
I listened then...
It was all there!
Your music kept cutting deeper and deeper valleys
of sound
Less and less light
Until you hit solid rock
The drill bit broke
and the valley became
A thin crevice, impassable in time,
As time itself stopped.

And the walls became vises of brilliant notes
Pressing in...
Pressure
That's how diamonds are made
And that's where it sometimes all collapses
Down in on you.

5
Then I translated your muttered lyrics
And the phrases were curious:
Like "incognito libido"
and "Chalk Skin Bending"

The words kept getting smaller and smaller
Until
Separated from their music
Each letter spilled out into a cartridge
Which fit only in the barrel of a gun

6
And you shover the barrel in as far as possible
Because that's where the pain came from
There where the demons were digging

The world outside was blank
Its every cause was just a continuation
Of another unsolved effect

7
But Kurt...
Didn't the thought that you would never write
another song
Another feverish line or riff
Make you think twice?
That's what I don't understand
Because it's kept me alive, above any wounds

8
If only you hadn't swallowed yourself into a coma
in Rome...
You could have gone to Florence
And looked into the eyes of Bellini or Rafael's
Portraits

Perhaps inside them
You could have found a threshold back to beauty's arms
Where it all began

No matter that you felt betrayed by her
That is always the cost
As Frank said,
Of a young artist's remorseless passion

Which starts out as a kiss
and follows like a curse

-- There was a special on TV several years ago, long before Russell
Simmons Def Poetry on cable, that showcased spoken word poets.
Someone introduced this "fierce poet" and Jim Carrol started reading
after the death of Cobain. It really struck me because I'd heard
about him from as far back as I can remember, "Basketball Diaries"
and all that. Here I thought he was gonna be this 70 year old guy
walking out, but there he stood, just as vital and asking the
perpetual "Why?" as the words in the poem, voiced from the living to
the dead. It definitely made an impact.

Get More Music Videos @ MusicFeet.com

I've thought about doing something new in my poetry group, Bailey's Java Cafe. Have one day a week set aside as "Lyrics Day" where members can post their favorite song lyrics. And to go along with that, I could also post my favorite for the month. Complete with maybe a video, like the one here, or just an audio version of some songs.
I don't know how many of you saw recently this band U2 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Kind of disconcerting though, when you think of it. I was always under the impression they only do that when a band seems to be nearing the end of their career. I'm not ready for that, and neither are they. From the looks of things, these guys won't be slowing down anytime soon, and they've definitely earned the honor.
Such a great band... They've been one of my favorites for years. Just look how long they've lasted. And their music has always had lyrics that were more than lyrics somehow. Bono is a poet, so being a poet makes a singer/songwriter more than just a musician. Couldn't count, really, how many songs are among my favorites, almost all... these come to mind first though: "Numb", "Bad", "Where The Streets Have No Name"... wow, all the way up to "Vertigo" and the song Bono wrote for his father, "Sometimes You Can't Make it on your own." All great songs. So here's a toast to U2, fire up those Bic lighters (for those of you under 25, activate your cell phones.)

Custom Narnia

Sundogs and moonbeams
incense, cats and candles.
And what a soundscape of
harp, mandolin, old-new
school punk to grunge to
the heaviest of metal gods.
I love it all, this library,
this memorization;
an education all its own.
Go back and salvage
all of what you've missed
through all these years...
Seems I've found my own
chronicles, the ones
that fit me best.