SHOES!

I got my school loan money, sooner than expected, so I've been a good chica and paid all the bills for Oct and am in the process of paying off two credit cards. I have been saying though that I want a new pair of shoes for performances since I usually end up wearing my old pointed toe pumps (out of style but I wore em anyway), or just chunky work shoes. Last round of concerts the sole part that supports your arch broke and the shoes were unwalkable. I have cheap 14 dollar black shoes but they look like they came from WalMart (they did) and they have lil rhinestones on them which don't exactly go with the rest of the look, usually. I do wear them but I got a better version of those too.

The shoe pictured above was reduced in price at Macys and I really like all the straps. I don't mind wearing open toe sandals in the winter since I'll just be going from my car to the venue and back. I really don't mind walking in open toes unless its snowing or something.

I also bought another pair of round toe (in style) black pumps for work/job interviews/nights out. The sandal above could be for nights out too. And the pumps could be for shows. According to our director, we'll be in quite a bit of extra special shows this season. So aside from the mandatory black bottom , white top dress code we have, the only thing you can express your sense of style with are............ the shoes.

Oh plus I'm going to alot of performances in Newark this season too. So the shoes will def come in handy. Now I have to decide whether to buy the parking pass, or just take the train each time. Parking pass is cheaper for NJPAC but alot of shows are in New Brunswick too, which is more affordable to drive to , and to park for free somewhere (in the hood) and walk. If need be, their parking garages cost like $5 compared to Newark's $16.

Who said shoes didnt bring happiness? Or money for that matter? Trying to just pay it out to bills this time since it looks like I'll have income til Feb for sure. The other months that wasn't the case and there were lapses in UE.

Mosque at Ground Zero

To hear the latest scandal du jour in America is amusing. People are now infuriated that they want to build a Mosque and an Islamic Center at/near (Not sure) the World Trade Center (thats what I still call it by habit, but more commonly known as GROUND ZERO).

What's my view on it? I have no problem with it. Not all muslims are terrorists. I think, in my opinion the site was chosen to show the worlds "We're not all like that. Let us show you."

Yes, the Sept. 11th Terrorists were Muslim. But they were brainwashed and believing that america was the devil and when they died, they''d' go to a fucking garden of eden with like 27 virgins or something. Thats like saying all Catholics are sodomising young alter boys.

Go ahead and put it there, if it were up to me. People nowadays get offended by so many things its sickening. They don't like the color of a model's Victoria's Secret panties, they raise hell. "*roll eyes*. Whatever. I would think as we got older people would be more liberal but it''s not really like that, apparently.

Why not worry about something more important than a Mosque........ THE ECONOMY and CREATION OF JOBS!

Absinthe

I had always been curious about absinthe since I was a teenager, seeing it in a movie one day. It was a mysterious green spirit with a ritual preparation of a sugar cube, spoon, water and sometimes fire. The drink was banned in Europe in the late 1800s or early 1900s (this ain't wikipedia, people! You want stats, look em up!). Thats what drew me to this drink. The fact that I'm not supposed to drink it, makes me want to drink it MORE!

I went to Spain in 2004. I went on a search for absinthe. Unfortunately, due to the shitty value of the US dollar vs the Euro, my $500 spending money turned into 340 Euros upon exchanging it =(

The cost of living equaled America so there was no money for expensive souviniers. Especially since upon my return, I'd have to pay the rent. My plan WAS to buy a bottle of absinthe and sneak it back into the country in my luggage. Thankfully, I didn't buy it cuz I was selected for a random luggage check at the Madrid airport on my way home and they went thru all my luggage. They would've confescated the bottle since at the time Absinthe was illegal in the US. My absinthe dreams were crushed and stuffed aside somewhere until recently.

I don't really remember what started up my quest for absinthe THIS time, but at a bbq, I mentioned to some friends that I really wanted to try it. Everyone else said they did too. I decided to buy a bottle from Europe and have it shipped to me, and have a get together of my more adventurous friends to taste it.

Absinthe for those who don't know is a spirit distilled from wormwood which contains a chemical called thujone. It is rumored to cause hallucinations, and spark creativitiy. Many great artists of the belle epoque were absinthe drinkers. It was also rumored to drive people crazy. This is arguable, with people saying that the symptoms of some of these absintheurs were those of alcoholism, rather than drinking too much absinthe.

I don't do drugs. Never tried any (except my lifelong desire to try LSD just once - haven't yet)
but I wanted to see what the absinthe effect would be like. Would it make me hallucinate? Would it make me want to paint some dark twisted picture? Would I do crazy shit, totally out of character for me? I dunno! But I was sure as hell gonna find out.

Old Absinthe ads

"The Absinthe Drinker" . The green fairy, or fee verte was a nickname for absinthe.

Later on, there was propaganda against absinthe, saying it caused you to go insane.

Worried yet? Nahhhhh, this made me want to try it MORE.

I finally got my bottle of Strong 68 from Alandia, cooked some burgers, and chicken, broke out the slotted spoons I ordered, and decided to git 'er done.

Glasses lined up with spoons and a sugar cube.

There are two "rituals" to prepare absinthe, just like in the old days. The French ritual is to pour 1 oz of absinthe in a glass, top with a slotted spoon and a sugar cube. Drip cold water onto the sugar cube so it melts into the drink. You are supposed to dilute the drink with 3-5oz of water. I don't think we even used that much. Oops.


The Czech ritual is the same except you drip a few drops of absinthe on the sugar cube and light the cube on fire til it caramelizes, then you dunk it in the absinthe. You can also set the absinthe on fire and let the flame melt the sugar cube. I didn't do this because I didnt want to set the house on fire lol.

The essential oils of the drink come out when mixed with water and it turns into a cloudy liquid called a louche. Stir and bon apetit!

The taste was spicy, not bitter like everyone said. I did put 2 sugar cubes in though fearing bitterness. It had anise in it, like what's in sausage. Everyone laughed when I said absinthe tasted like sausage. But I am a fan of flavor and spice. I really enjoyed the experience. I even had 2 glasses, after swearing I'd only have one to start. Everyone had multiple glasses except 2 people.

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Did I hallucinate? No. Was I drunk out my mind? No. Did I feel different? YES. It took a while for it to kick in. I felt a little light headed, and due to my lack of experience with drugs, I'd assume it was a high feeling, but I really don't know. I remember laughing hysterically at a kid across the street trying to lean on a bush to take a picture of something in the next yard (it was dark and 1am at this point) and we all started cracking up. More than we probably would've if we weren't drinking.

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2 friends went home, 2 left. We went for a walk on the beach. It'd be all good as long as I didnt decide to walk to Portugal at low tide in the pitch black. That didn't happen. Returned home and cleaned up. Another friend went home. The last one was staying over because they wanted to hang at the beach the next day. I put my stuff away and went in my room to catch up on the daily Facebook happenings. Thats when I noticed something.

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I was looking at the font of the words on the screen. It was so THIN and WIDE. Why didn't i notice this before. I saw the dots on my sheets had a lining around them, and they had a pattern that repeated. The weaving of the fibers on the lampshade. The wood on the ceiling (I have a hardwood ceiling like a hardwood floor. weird). The numbers on the clock were dimmer than the numbers on the cable box clock. The triangular pattern of skin cells on my hand. I was staring at them in wonder. I never gave a SHIT before about those things.

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Then my hearbeat sped up for no apparent reason. I hoped I'd be able to sleep. I got up to pee. When I got in the living room my friend was still up watching tv. I felt like I was floating (but not drunk-drunk). Then I went back into my room and fell asleep. When I woke up I was fine.

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We barely made a dent in the bottle. We are gonna do it again. I was defintely a fan of absinthe. But if you don't like spice, you probably won't like this.

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I felt a connection to people during the Belle Epoque era carrying out age old rituals of preparation and feeling to some extent, the same buzz they did. I didn't paint any pictures or write any deep poems, but absinthe just gained a few more fans that night.

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The people who were too scared really missed out. I can't wait to do it again! I have it here but its lame to drink by yourself, so...until the next time!

Get a Real Job

The phrase I get the most nowadays is "When are you gonna get a real job?" or just "Get a real job already!" I'm so sick of hearing this bullshit. Today there was major drama at my temp job. Some tenants number was given out to another tenant, who then called the first tenant and accused her of having roaches. Then she called me cursing me out thinking I gave out her number (i didn't), and said she's offended that anyone would accuse her of being unclean and shit. She said she had maintenance issues from when she moved in in January (before I came here), and they haven't been fixed. Then she continued to curse me out, rant about my cheap jewish boss, and hang up.

Today the main office called and blamed me saying that she's had issues for months and I never reported it. The woman from the main office told me the tenant said this. I said if she called while I was here, it was reported. But its my word against theirs. Apparently the super said he never got the work order too.

When all else fails blame the temp.... >=/

So then I was told to call an exterminator. Since I am a lowely temp and not allowed to do anything, I had to call a woman at yet another office to call them. She wasn't available so ANOTHER woman told me she'll give her the message (she usuallyDOESNT pass along messages and just blames me and says she never heard anything from me). I was told to have the tenant write a letter stating that she needs an exterminator. Never heard of that before! But fine. I called her and told her. She was infuriated. I said I was doing as I was asked and I can't even write it myself. So she came over and wrote the letter. Her husband asked me if I was working with a temp agency. I said "unfortunately yes. It's all the work I can find right now." Her husband says "Go get a real job! Don't do this SHIT. This place is horrible! you'll get a bad reputation working here!" Although I see his point, I don't like to be talked to like I like temping and want to be a fucking career temp! I hate temping! I have to live and UE doesn't pay me shit this year. Plus I'm able to have somewhat of a social life, resulting in a much happier ME !

Then she says to me "I have children, and I want to see young people do well. Don't stay here. Get a real job!" Whatever lady. I thought I already made that clear that I'm only here because that's all I can find.

Anyway after I faxed the note to the Neptune office, I was told she has to provide me with a dead roach as proof that she has roaches. It was the end of the day and I didn't call her back. She'll be amused when she hears that. But different people say different things! Noone's story is the same. I complained to my boss that it was made to look like I never reported her leaking WHATEVER from Jan. Turns out she was calling in June, documented in computer, and the super said he completed the work. So I wrote a long email to my boss bitching that I am made to be the scapegoat. She is mad because someone gave out her NUMBER and YOU are screwing her over and she refuses to pay rent til they fix the problems (the whole complex is falling apart). And they are trying to twist it around blaming ME saying she's mad cuz of ME. The boss is a cowardly hasidic jew who doesn't deal with confrontation. Needless to say, he didn't answer. I am looking even harder for new jobs (temp or perm).Although I really need perm but theres just NOTHING!

My boss ^

I apply to tons of jobs, most of which I am overqualified for, and get no response. So I'm kind of in a rut. All I've done is temp, and my last real jobs were higher level jobs. Now I'm applying to entry level jobs. And getting nowhere. It seems that there are more bad temp jobs than good ones. I am so sick of being a fucking temp!! But i dont want to give up the happiness that comes with being able to do things and have a social life.

Band and Firework Wednesdays Once Again

So once again Summer Band has started up in my town. I'm glad I once again have something to do that I LIKE (as opposed to temping and running errands, which is all iv'e been doing as of lately).

But the downside is that we are in the middle of a 2 week (or more?) long heat wave with temperatures regularly in the mid to high 90s with high humidity, and the nights in the low 90s or upper 80s. I've barely turned off my AC the past few weeks. I love playing in the concerts, but playing in 94 degrees with 100% humidity is as close to hell as you're gonna get.

I feel like the more I drink, the faster I sweat it all out. Maybe I shouldn't drink? Then I won't sweat? Yeah but then I'll dehydrate and end up with an IV in my arm like many times before. I seem to dehydrate faster than the average person. I know once I lose my voice, I better start chugging a gallon of water, STAT!

The band plays a large variety of songs, and I really like the selection (usually). The problem is that alot of these pieces have been played for years, and the people know them well (even the difficult ones). I have only been in the band 3yrs, and I'm not as seasoned as the rest of them. I have one day to learn a song. its frustrating that sometimes fast 16th note passages can't be played up to speed when most of the others can do it. I consider myself a decent player, but in a day I can't work up to the level everyone else is at. Not all the songs have fast 16th note runs though. But usually the ones that do are my favorite. I love difficult pieces! But yeah, only one day to learn it can get a little frustrating is. The good thing is, I copy the hard pieces that i like to put in my music collection so I CAN learn them for the future. So when the songs repeat, I'll know the songs just as well as the other people.

I started writing out some music, which I haven't done since I was a teenager, and now I remember why! Its soooooo tedious. I have no patience and when I think that the famous composers like Mozart and Beethoven wrote 100s of symphonies, I think they mustve had no social life and been recluses or something (probably were). I do not like writing music! I would rather buy the piece online. Problem is, most of the songs I want to do for youtube aren't available. Soooooo, I got thru some of Cab Driver, by Daryl Hall. Its easy and it repeats alot, so once i write the verse, chorus and bridge, I'm done. It leaves room for improvisation. Now will I have the time to perform these songs? The temp job has great acoustics! My apartment does NOT. I dont know where I can really play these things. I also can't find my tripod. I think it might be in my car though. I'll have to dig thru the beach shit to see if its in there.

This blog is really random. I felt like writing one but its very uninteresting, talking about summer band, which most people dont' even know that I do this, and don't give a shit (which is why noone comes to see me play). But WHATEVS!

I finally got paid after going almost 5 days with no money, eating whatever edible crap I have left at home, eating once at the temp assignment, and rehearsing out in the sweltering heat. My check didn't get accepted in the ATM, of course,so I had to deposit with a teller. The ATM gives me cash asap. The teller deposits don't. Luckally my stimulus check was accepted by the ATM and I got $25 whole dollars to eat with. Spent 7. Will get gas. I have so many things to do now and I'm waiting for one more check tomorrow.

Oil Change, gas, eye exam, 2 cavities filled, new box of contact lenses, bills, AC fee, groceries, car wash (my car is so filthy its ridic), season beach pass, kayak paddle leash, big dry bag, flare for the ocean, and pay XM radio. I'm sure thers more. And I'm sure I'll be broke again by Sat. Ah the life of an unemployed person! Still pushing on looking for a job. Nothing but temp jobs out there tho'. Thats what I do now. Temp. i'm so sick of temping. But that helps me survive, so...

Oh, so after band theres fireworks. I really am not into them. Everyone else stars at them in wonder. They're not that impressive to me. They do them all the time at the shore. I watch them from my Bathroom (best seat in the house, not cuz i'm always in there! but because thats where you can see them from ). I just got in the car (i drove cuz i came straight from running errands to band and sat outside in the sauna .....er.... boardwalk), and drove straight home and went straight into a cold shower. I feel much better now and I really hope that this heat wave shit is almost over. I like the nights when we play and its like 73 and breezy since we play right by the ocean. But the nights lately are 93 and humid stagnant air.

Now I'm looking for some trashy reality show to watch to amuse myself before bed time. I'm pretty hyped up (always am at this time of nite esp if I'm out doing something), so sleeping is gonna be difficult. Ireally wish I had a job that goes with my nocturnal nature. I can sleep FINE during the day! Its getting to bed bfore midnight thats the problem.

Ok this was an uneventful blog. I got it out of my system. I dont knwo why I'm even gonna post it on facebook.... but. Maybe someone'll be bored and read it, as I was bored in writing it. *shrug*.

G'nite

Rebound Relationships

Are you in a rebound relationship? To those who are, please read this article. If you are gonna ask me "is this meant for me?", maybe just the fact that you even think it's about you means you are in this situation.
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Breaking up with a beloved one is hard, and while there are people who aren't upset if they just broke with the love of their life, many other people can't get over an ex for months and years. Sure, an ex belongs to the past and the sooner one forgets him or her, the better. However, rushing into a rebound relationship is not the way to forget an ex.

Rebound Relationships Defined
A rebound relationship is relationship forned when a person, who has just ended an affair with somebody he or she loved a lot, jumps into a new relationship in an attempt to heal his or her broken heart. A rebound relationship could be a one-night stand, but usually it is a longer-term relationship. The rebound date could be a really nice person but it could also be a random guy or girl.



Read more at Suite101: Rebound Relationships are Unhappy Relationships: Starting a New Relationship is Not the Way to Forget an Ex http://dating.suite101.com/article.cfm/rebound_relationships_are_unhappy_relationships#ixzz0ro55uAJW

The purpose of the rebound relationship is to forget the ex. Also, many people have fear of being single and if they had been dumped, a rebound relationship looks like a life-jacket. Needless to say, love is the last thing found in a rebound relationship. Rebound relationships can be short but they can also last for a long time.

Examples of Rebound Relationships
Rebound relationships come in many flavors, but one of the signs all rebound relationships have in common is that they are unhappy relationships – for one or both of the partners. For instance, if one of the partners has been dumped and he or she starts seeing somebody new, when the previous partner calls, the dumped one rushes back into the relationship and dumps the rebound date. For the rebound date, this situation is very hard to handle because it feels as if he or she is dumped because of doing something wrong, while the truth is that he or she has simply been used by his or her partner as a way to find some comfort.

CLICK FOR RELATED CONTENT
Uncoupling's First Stage: Relationship Secrets
Blindsided, the left, or the person broken up with, does not realize that the initiator has been uncoupling for years. Uncoupling starts with secrets.Another case of an unhappy rebound relationship is when the dumped one finds a new date and the new date takes advantage of his or her broken heart. There are many such cases and sometimes it is quite possible to see that somebody in a rebound relationship marries after knowing his or her new partner for a couple of months only and becomes trapped in an unhappy relationship he or she can't easily break from. If the reader wants to read more about rebound relationships and rebound relationship stories, Rebound Relationships is one of the places to start with.


Generally, the best way to deal with a rebound relationship is to end it right away. Yes, it might feel hard to do it, but this is really the best move in such a situation.

Cruise Tomorrow!!!

Yay! Tomorrow is my cruise and I'm so hyper and excited just to get the HELL out of HERE! I hope I can sleep tonight. i still have so much to do, like my nails, and get layers trimmed in my hair and getting contact lens solution, and a few other thingamajigs, then wait for my temp pay (even tho I get 2 checks a week they're smaller and I STILL feel like I have no money). I want my temp check so I can pay some bills before departing. Most bills are due the day I get back =(.

I wanna pay em so I can go with a relaxed mindset of not having anything to come back and worry about. Of course I need more money,esp since I had to buy a suitcase and stuff, and I went out for thai one night w/ a friend. But I'm bringing $160 with me for my cruise acct and then just have to buy lunch, water and admission to whatever in Canada on Sat. If I dont' spend $160 I get it back. I dont think I will. I'm not really a big drinker and alkee is the only thing you really pay for.

Gonna TRY to go to sleep soon. Gonna TRY to get up at 7 (ha!) so I can finish packing, go do the hair thing, ok maybe 8. 7 is unneccesary. I can see where this is going. Jen is gonna have to wake me up on this cruise cuz otherwise I aint getting up til NOON! eff that. She's an early bird and I'm a night owl. This is gonna be interesting. I CAN get up.... I just need a reason TO get up.

CIAO!!!