"Back from the dead!" the story of a ticketing zombie brought back to life...

Yes, so I'm back. From outer space. I just walked in to find me here with that sad look upon my face. I shoulda changed that stupid lock...

I have survived.

I'm free from the job I shouldn't have taken. Beginning to settle into my "normal" life again.

The veggie garden is flourishing.
The iphone has new gadgets.
The new David Sedaris is mostly read.

And, I've finally chosen the perfect song for Cahen and I...



(First discovered on Big Action!)

I'm an angel. You can be, too.

our earth

It is our earth,
not yours or mine or his.

We are meant to live on it,
helping each other,
not destroying each other

- Krishnamurti

Can a virus be a good thing?

Last week, someone sent me a rather racey text message:
"I want to go down on you, then slowly rise up and f*ck you real good"

It was signed "Gas Prices".

My first thought was "great, they've figured out how to send annoying forwards via text now". They're no longer limited to your email in-box.

Then, the more lasting thought crept into my head. If we can get upset about the price of gas in the US and take the time to try to make a difference, by complaining about it and by sending clever little text messages to everyone we know, why can't we try to solve the world's problems in the same way?

We've been staging protests against the Iraq war since before it began. I don't think protests work like they may have in the past. Protests are easy to ignore.

We need to be more annoying if we want to see any change.

I'm always open to hear a good joke. But, beyond that, I don't care how expensive gas is. I'd rather not be dependent on my car, so gas prices don't matter. I do care about the Tibetans' oppression, the continuing genocide of the black Africans in Darfur, the homeless population in the US and US healthcare - and I want to do more than I do to make it better. I want you to tell me what you care about, so I can help you try to make a difference.

We need to know our local representatives' faces, so we can tell them our concerns when we see them around town. We need to get our hands on US Officials' email addresses and start writing emails. And, I want their cell phone numbers, too. I'm working on a few really funny text jokes about the economy that I'd like to forward.

Tibet
Darfur
US Homeless Shelters

(The health care issue's too complex to provide a link, maybe that's my next topic...hmmmm)

in the middle

I think I'm feeling a little low today, but not sure...maybe I just need a vitamin.

Since I'm not sure, I've set the ipod to shuffle Ani DiFranco's music for me all day. I'll leave it in her hands to either pick me up or take me the rest of the way down...

2008 Olympics in China

"You know, Huey, those of us who do adhere to the philosophy of non-violence frown upon the throwing of furniture to resolve our political differences." - Martin Luther King, Jr. (as imagined by Aaron McGruder, writer, The Boondocks)

I am torn.

As Tibetans, the victims of 50 years of violence and oppression, begin to rise up and become violent against the Chinese government I find myself wondering if they're wrong. China raped, murdered, tortured and imprisoned the Tibetan people in the 50's. Their leaders were driven into exile in another country. Thousands of monasteries were destroyed. The Tibetans remained peaceful. In recent years, they haven't slaughtered the Tibetans en masse. There has a been a much more sinister method of committing genocide in Tibet. The Chinese get rid of the Tibetans by starving them to death and by diluting their population with the Chinese people from the lower cities. The mystical land of Shangri La has been turned into a land of hungry vagrants and tourist attractions.

The Tibetans are and have been a peaceful people. They have spoken out about their oppression, but never fought back. Then, just recently, they have begun to rise up - their protests are more aggressive, attacking Chinese guards, tearing down Chinese flags and replacing them with Tibetan flags. The Dalai Lama has said he'll resign as their leader if the violence doesn't stop.

Fifty years of peacefully asking for freedom all the while the hand of your oppressor is firmly pressing on your head...at some point that hand has to be slapped away and the oppressed must stand up. That time is now.

I am a peaceful person. I would like to think that I would keep peace in my heart if I suffered the way the Tibetans have suffered. And, on the other hand, I celebrate their recent defiance. It's been a long time coming.

I am joining the boycott of the Olympics in honor of the Tibetan's fight against their oppressors.

Or maybe it's time to start throwing furniture...

Free Tibet.

Gimme banana

Thank you, Lil Jen, for the sillyness.

Comfy

I want to call in "comfy" to work tomorrow.

www.comfysacks.com

We got the 6-footer in "Apple".

I spent Saturday in it - watching movies, reading, napping.

Cahen spent Saturday refilling my drinks, bringing me snacks and making me dinner.

I'm writing this entry from it.

I may never get up.

The secret word of the day: Hiss

In addition to our new human roomie, we also have a new furry roomie - her kitty, Bogey. We've been closely supervising the co-mingling the kitties.

After a great deal of research, Cahen put together a 9-step plan.
1. Step one: use a wrag to pet the new "stranger", then let them sniff the wrag; leave it lying around in their safe space.
2. Step two: Allow them to discover each other under a locked door.
3. Step three: Let them see each other through a glass door.
4. Step four: Supervised visits.
5. Step five - nine: monitor the hissing.

Bogey's excited for new friends.
Nyos has warmed up to Bogey (after giving him a little 'tude at first) - he gives Bogey a good sniffing daily.
Pomp remains cautious and suspecting and territorial.
Hiss. He gets really close and looks him in the eye.
Hiss. He glares at hime while marking his chairs (with his paws...not spraying).
Hiss. Then he runs away. Upstairs. To his safe place.
...He comes back an hour later.
Hiss. Then he leaves again.

I'm ready to lock 'em in a room together until they're friends. On a good note, I'm happy to provide all the extra lovin' Pomp needs as reassurement during the process.

True.

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

total blubber

I love my iPhone.

Love it.

I've had a few "smart" phones but this is the 1st that was actually smart. No manual needed, easy to navigate. Sometimes, it's functionality is so intuitive that it takes a few minutes to figure out how to do something because it's so easy, but nothing like other phones. It took me 10 minutes to figure out how to check my voicemail, because I couldn't figure out how to get it to "call" my voicemail account - it doesn't have to, you just click on the particular message you want to listen to and it starts playing... See? Smart.

www.iphone.com

hmmmm...

IM conversation with my good friend, Sir William:

SW: But we all get $600 from Uncle Sam so we can spend it and save the economy. Maybe I'll just put mine in the bank to piss them off.
saibobby: yep, but a Swiss bank for extra sting.
SW: Right.
saibobby: those things used to make me mad - now they make me shrug.
saibobby: "Sorry you foreclosed on your house, here's $600"
SW: Exactly. "Sorry we destroyed the economy and sold America's assets to the Chinese. Here's $600."
saibobby: Please use it to buy Chinese goods.
SW: Don't mind the lead.
saibobby: giggle...even though it's not really funny.
saibobby: we should be rioting in the streets.
SW: True.
saibobby: but my Tivo has shows I need to watch.
SW: But they just arrest you as a terrorist these days. We have to find more inventive ways to be subversive.
saibobby: good point.
saibobby: hmmmm

hmmmm, indeed. What are we to do? That is, besides hoping 2009's Elected leaders will do better...

OMG, It's been a long time...

It's been weeks. Man, have I been busy. My time has been spent on:

1. Going home to Memphis for Mom's 60th birthday party, which landed me there for Christmas for the 1st time in my adult life. It was a very nice visit, but still pretty stressful...think it'll take another 20 years to get me home for the holidays again...
2. Moving into our new place. We're renting an awesome house closer in, still in the Hawthorne. Our new roomie - Ms. Rachel Rhodes - arrives the first week in February. It'll be great to have a partner-in-crime when Cahen and the Portland vocal crew are all in rehearsals. The house is really awesome. It won't be ready for viewing until late January...
3. The most evil site on the internet: http://farm.avocadolite.com/game.phtml (Be warned - you may not get anything else done today if you visit that site!)
4. I accepted a new job with TicketsWest. As of tomorrow, I'm the Regional Manager, PNW. My emotions are all over the place about it. I wanted out of the ticketing business and I'm realizing that although I'm drawn to management roles, I really don't think I want one. And yet, I took the job. I'm going into this with a fresh perspective, with new insight into myself. I'm going to learn some lessons about myself, one way or the other this time around. Poor Cahen, having to deal with/avoid my many moods and emotions...

The real sign that I've been way busy? Our brand new Wii is still in the box...

Namaste.