Rest In Peace

Gone but not forgotten:

Ed McMahon

Farrah Fawcett

Michael Jackson


And my dad, who died 10 years ago today.

The Sunday Spin .... on a Wednesday this time, because that's how lazy I am

1. Father's Day weekend was great! I got the stepdad season one of 24. I also got him a card with Barack Obama on the front. The card didn't say anything special, but since it had a picture of The Prez, it got rave reviews.

2. I finally added Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 to my ever growing movie collection. Lots of bloody fun. Now I need to fulfill my musical streak and purchase 'Across the Universe' and 'Moulin Rouge'.

3. Speaking of movies, one of my faves was on this weekend, The Color Purple. As I watched this time, I couldn't help but realize how selfish that Shug Avery is. I wanted to scream at Celie to wake up! If Shug really loved her, she wouldn't be sleeping with Mister and would've took Celie with her when she said Mister beats her. But no! All Shug wanted was to push Celie's button and roll out. Hmph. Of course, I got over that by the time the movie got to my favorite scene -- "God's Tryin To Tell You Somethin'." Sniff, sniff. Breaks me up everytime.

4. I just finished 'I Am Not Sidney Poitier', which was written by one of my favorite authors, Percival Everett. I thought the book was decent, but 'Erasure' is my favorite Everett book of all times. He's got this dry sense of humor that really cracks me up. I'll never forget this one part of 'Erasure', where the main character thinks back to when he was a boy and his sister catches him masturbating: "What are you doing?" "Masturbating." "I'm gonna tell Mom and Dad!" "Go ahead. What are they gonna do, take it away from me?"

5. July 15 is right around the corner, and that will be a very special day for me. If you don't know why, then perhaps you don't know me as well as you thought you did.

6. I'm so tired of hearing about the Jon & Kate scandal, but I CAN'T STOP reading every detail I hear about it. Sigh. Let's not forget that I was into this show back in the day, before their marriage fell apart. With everything that's going on, someone suggested that they start calling the show "Jon & Kate Find New Mates". There's also another site selling merchandise.

7. And that about sums up my goings on for the time being.

The Sunday Spin

1. This week/weekend was kinda good and kinda exhausting

2. I'm happy to report that my seasonal running program is in full effect. I can now run 13 minutes nonstop ...

3. ... And that's only with good weather, a tall bottle of cold water and a good episode of This American Life blaring in my ear.

4. I had such a good time watching my goddaughter get baptized this weekend that I was able to overlook the fact that the church was in the hood ...

5. ... Or that we were required to remain on our feet for two hours ....

6. ... Or the slight interrogation (again) from the priest over my not being Catholic.

7. Now I'm watching 'The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants (Pt 2)' on HBO and thinking about a bubble bath and dinner. The premiere of True Blood comes on tonight!

The Sunday Spin

1. I had a restless sleep last night. I coughed, tossed and turned and had a crazy dream ...

2. ... one where I was at a job interview, but got stuck inside the bathroom! when i did finally get out of the bathroom, I was in the big city ....

3. stumbling through the crowded streets, wearing a skirt that was too small. every step I made, I had to stop and pull my skirt down ...

4. but I woke up and got out of that fretful, 10-hour night of sleep. I spent the rest of the day getting ready for my guitar recital that was this evening.

5. So, I watched 'Brick Lane' and I practiced the two songs that I planned to play at the recital -- 'The Gauge' and 'With Ease.' I am masterful in playing 'The Gauge'! However, I'm a bit rusty in my playing of 'With Ease.'

6. I got to the location of the recital -- a church -- a tad bit early, but I was a bit concerned by the emptiness of the parking lot. But I went inside anyway and interrupted what seemed to be that church's evening concert, as well as their 'Coffee Talk' night.

7. After driving around the neighborhood several times and frantically calling my guitar teacher, I learned my recital was yesterday, not today. Sigh. Now all I can do is watch the season premiere of 'Weeds'* and get ready for the work week.

*And now I realize that the season premiere of Weeds isn't until tomorrow night. All my dates are confused! ARGH!!

Back in the days when I was young I'm not a kid anymore, but somedays, I wish I was a kid again

Once my relatives started friending me on Facebook, I knew the inevitable would happen. I would somehow be reunited with HP -- the boy next door, my first boyfriend and the very first dude to break my heart.

Now, when I say first boyfriend, I mean FIRST first boyfriend. I'm talking about being 6 years old playing in the sandbox kind of first. As I look back now, it's clear he wasn't good for me. First of all, he was abusive. He always pulled my ponytails or asked me to get on the seasaw with him, only to run away and cause my butt to slam to the bottom. (Luckily, my older cousin was the biggest bully in the neighborhood and he put a stop to all of that.) He was also a clear commitment phobe. I mean, he never properly asked for my hand. The only thing that solidified our relatonship was that time I put my foot down and told him that he needed to give me a commitment or I was gone. The conversation went a bit like this ...

Me: Who's your girlfriend?
HP: Ummmm... you?
Me: Oh. Ok!

HP and I did have our good times. Our dates were spent either playing kickball at my grandma's house or at his grandparents' place, watching Fraggle Rock. We spent the best days of our relationship digging up earthworms and keeping them in jars, thinking of them as our pets. I was fascinated when HP showed me that I could cut a worm in half and it would keep moving in opposite directions. He'd even use those glass jars to capture bees or lightning bugs for me. Then he'd fill the jar with water and we'd watch them drown. He was so romantic.

This was not to say we didn't have our problems. We had severe ideological differences. He loved Hide N Go Seek, while I was more of a Freeze Tag kind of girl. I went to private school; he was public. By the time I got off the bus, he was already running around the neighborhood. By the time I did my homework and changed clothes, he was inside eating dinner. He soon got new friends -- older kids who actually enjoyed Hide N Go Seek -- and I also had a new crew that actually wanted to play Barbies with me. HP and I still had our rendezvous, but things were changing and we both knew it.

When I learned I'd be moving to another state, I was disappointed in HP's actions. He didn't jump in front of the moving van, stow away in my luggage or offer to let me live with his family. Nope, he just let me run off to parts unknown without a care in his cold heart. Grrr.

Over the years, my cousins kept me updated on HP's life -- his girlfriends, his marriage, his kid, his divorce, his other marriage, etc. I came upon his Facebook profile recently when he left a comment on my cousin's page. I must say, he doesn't look at all like I remember. I mean, he's got hair on his face and everything! Imagine that! I'll bet he's still a Hide N Seek aficionado.

Photo from http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_155/11815712275B8dG6.jpg