Friday, October 31, 2008

VOTE



Tuesday, October 28, 2008

So Much......


I haven't been around for a few weeks due to an adrenaline shot of familial stress brought on by an ill mother who was staying with me for about a month. I couldn't find enough time to devote to my words and thoughts, let alone combining the two. I've let off some steam by walking at the beach, listening to an infinite play list of dance music and classic rock with a little Dave Brubeck mixed in there for good measure and a slightly cultural experience.

There is nothing quite like caring for an elderly person who isn't feeling up to snuff. I know how I feel when my back is in a horrid spasm, so I tap into my empathetic side, trying to motivate my mother who is now suffering from pulmonary hypertension, as well a myriad of other ailments.

The daily in's and out's of elder care is more than difficult, it's downright depressing. I love my mother. She gave me life and has continuously motivated me to be a better person in a million different ways, showed me how to cook everything from home made pasta to simple light fare like Frittatas and a wide variety of tasty soups to the secrets of her elegant yet hearty Italian tomato sauce (please don't call it gravy people...I really hate that!). I never really did learn how to sew or knit but I make a mean crocheted granny square and can refinish any antique piece of furniture at will....simply because this wonderfully talented woman took the time to nurture my interests as well as turn me on to her own. Even when the Grateful Dead came to Albany back in the late 80's, she embraced the culture that I loved until a car load of Deadheads pulled over and yanked out my mother's flock of Echinecea flowers that she had meticulously planted around our wrap around porch. I'm sure they did it merely for the flower power look of things, but my mother, furious in her stance, awkwardly looked at the small hole in the ground, cursing Jerry Garcia and all his hippie dippy followers. I suppose that was the end of my mom's dalliance into counter culture, thirty years after it was fashionable!

I've been quite busy these last few weeks between meeting Gloria Steinem, Mario Cuomo, Richard Haas, DeDe Myers and Ari Fleischer, as well as George Stephanapoulos. It was like a political Woodstock here for a solid month prior to the October 15th presidential debate held at Hofstra. It was a proud moment for all of us and although I would have loved to attend the event, I was more than happy documenting the days happenings through photographs taken alongside picketers and protesters who loudly expressed their disgust with John McCain but moreover with the oil war that has taken more than four thousand American lives and countless Iraqi casualties. I'm a peace nick if you haven't noticed and refuse to support a war that will soon know no borders. When will the madness stop and when will America get mad..downright pissed off at the happenings of the last eight years. Maybe we'll see that fury tomorrow as we all head out to our local polling places filled with pride, hope and yes, a little fear that those nasty red states will somehow get redder. The truth in each one of us lies in our decision tomorrow. We can either vote for hope or vote our fear. Pick one and commit to it. I openly choose hope but there are those citizen's out there who will let their primal fears strangle their very chance to once again actively participate in our democratic government. I again will remind you that I am and will always be for Hillary but I do believe Obama has an innate quality that my candidate does not possess. His ability to reach people in an empathetic, understanding way will catapult his political career and solidify his rightful place in history. He's one of us, not raised as a senator's son with the proverbial silver spoon sticking out of his mouth. Obama understands what it's like to live through the years of divorce, familial instability and humble beginnings. I realize he's no Superman, Shaman or healer but he is going to lead America into a new world for better or worse. Cast your votes tomorrow and make sure you vote for Hope!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Joe the Plumber is a Fake


Read it and weep my friends...the truth is, Joe the Plumber isn't licensed and he owes back taxes. I think Mr. McCain got this one WRONG!


Follow the link!


Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Presidential Debate Anticipation


To say I am excited for tomorrow would be an understatement. I have been a political junkie since I was a wee tot growing up in Albany, New York, a democratic city with strong union ties. My father was extremely fluent in all things politics and handed that valuable trait down to me, a curious soul with an insatiable appetite for political banter. I've always thought of working in public service but never took the leap, but I think this long lasting, two year blitz of various presidential candidates playing musical chairs with my beloved rite to vote has compelled this strong minded, liberal woman to run for some sort of political office. Honestly, I don't care if I lose because for me it's all about the democratic process and when that secure voting process is soured, the idea of a democracy no longer exists. Of course I'd love to hold an elected position in government, hell I'd even settle for the local yocal school or library board to begin my long shuffle to the state level, yet the recent occurrence of right eye twitching has left me limp. I'm curious about how government works and although I believe there is rampant corruption amongst many elected officials, I still work under the guise of naivete and idealism, so I think I may have a chance at getting something done in my first term. Anything after that is a crap shoot. I think politicians are like tofu...permeable. Once you marinate it in something, after a short while, it begins to take on that flavor, much like our elected congress women and men who ignore the wants and needs of their constituents on a regular basis, voting for earmarks and bloated pork packages because they hovered too long at the bar with a loathsome soul from a random political action committee (the scum of the earth). My true hope is that Obama can change my scewed, cynical view on things and make me believe in his version of CHANGE. I want to take back my nation from these corrupt scoundrels that have shanghaied our very rights and privileges from under our noses....and we let them, so SHAME ON ALL OF US! Remember to vote, it's the only thing we have to save us from conservative oblivion.


Sunday, October 12, 2008

Countdown to the Debate or Way to Go Hofstra!


Follow the link and read a great article about my employer and Alma mater, Hofstra University! I feel so proud to be part of all this. Way to go HU!


Friday, October 10, 2008

Thursday, October 9, 2008

That One

Thank to Cindy for posting this on Facebook. I'll be voting for "that one" so watch and see!

Rene'

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Target Stampede or How I Lost it All and Gained Everything!


I spent my weekend at Target. No, really I did and I got amazing steals and deals from jewelry to pocketbooks to shoes and funky clothes. I am totally stoked people because when you start to acquire a new body, you must, as a rule, acquire more stylish garments to match your current flavor. Since last March, I've lost about 40 pounds and am excited about wearing a slightly trampy, vampy black lace number I've been saving for a friends wedding. What's better than acting a little bad on a day when everyone else is behaving themselves and the star of the show is adorned in white on white.


I've always fashioned myself in black, my favorite non-color. A close friend of mine in college always joked with me that he had never seen me in any other color besides black and honestly, when I saw him years later, I of course was wearing BLACK. Gee, what a bloody surprise! I always feel I look best in dark clothing with my hair and olive complexion, especially when I'm tan. Wearing black also has the added advantage of making you look thinner than you really are and boy oh boy there is nothing like wearing the first black turtleneck of the winter season. I'm obsessed with every variety including ribbed sweater types and mocks as well as Land's End cotton turtlenecks that are soft to the touch. I know this sounds bizarre and many of you who have had the pleasure/displeasure of living with me often know that when I'm thinking or writing, I inadvertently pull the collar over half my face, obstructing most of my breathing passages. Weird habit, I know, but I've been doing it since I was a kid and at this point in my life, it's become some what of a rite of passage as fall becomes winter in my household.


I plan on working extra hard this week to ensure maximum weight loss which includes little bread, lots of salad and extra walking and lifting. I'm also going to do something a little cheesy too. Since the weather has NOT cooperated, I am going to go tanning, something I warded off for years because of the radiation dangers. I'm going to ask my trusty student aid Becky to come with me for fear I'll stay in the booth too long and look like some orange freakazoid from the planet FRIED! They told me I needed to buy some special lotion that costs and arm and leg so I suppose I'm going to make that purchase to ensure proper coverage and a nice savage tan in time for the plethora of weddings that this October has promised. I must admit that I am excited at the prospect of making a spectacular entrance at this shindig, even if I'm not a size 2. I feel great right now, confident in my weight loss journey and eager to make a splash.

SNL Mock of Sarah Palin October 4th

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Sting @ 57 or The Perfect O


A few days ago, while listening to my favorite radio station, WFUV 90.7, the DJ reminded me that it was Sting's 57th birthday. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked and interestingly enough, a little turned on. I've always been one for idol worship and fascinating secret crushes but when I met my husband I all but gave up on these little unrequited love hobbies and promised to focus my sexual energies in his direction. I even made promises in front of God in regards to this when I took my solemn marriage vows almost 14 years ago, but much to not a single person's surprise, I allowed myself one small indulgence where I could occasionally play the role of infatuated rock star groupie to my favorite Limey, Sting or Gordon Sumner as I like to call him.


I'm still stuck on the fact that he is 57 years of age and looks amazing in every possible physical way. It must be all that tantric yoga. In an interview a few years back, he was quoted as saying he could have sex for up to 10 hours at one shot, a direct result of his Eastern relaxation practices. He claimed it took years to get to that point but he learned discipline from daily routines, as did his second wife, Trudy Styler, the recipient of such wanderlust. I have to admit, I am a bit jealous of such afternoon delights but then again, do I really want to spend my days bent into some sort of doughy pretzel in the hopes of an orgasm of a lifetime. I think not. I'm a bit conservative in this forum and although I enjoy and partake in the intimacy of marriage, I by no means swing from the chandeliers in search of the perfect O.


Women of a certain age are in the height of their sexual prowess, so achieving a climax is much easier than all that hard work we had to do in our 20's. I think if someone blew on my ear these days they get a loud, guttural moan, proceeded by a little shimmy-shake normally reserved only for the boudoir. I'm 41, interested and eager, what more could any man or woman ask for these days. A little action is better than none, but I say get as much as you can while you can before you can no longer tolerate all that huffing and puffing.


When some women have children, they all but give up their sexual lives with their husbands, leading many of them to be bitter and celibate which in no way could satisfy either party. Why let it fester? If you want it, grab it and enjoy it. No one says you have to go all the way, all the time. A little foreplay is good for the soul. It's like eating the cupcake first and not getting any of the frosting. It makes you yearn for more and honestly keeps you focused on that frosting for days until you can no longer stand one more day without it. Seize that cupcake my friends and bask in the glory of your conquest. It may be just what you needed!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Don't Vote Add...Tell 5 Friends

Tina Fey/SNL/Sarah "Boom Boom" Palin/Catie Couric Mock Interview and I mean MOCK

Wall of Fame Dismantled


Today I dismantled my Wall of Fame that has been housed in my office since 1996, loaded with funny Polaroids of some of my favorite old students that I will never forget and in many ways, changed my life. The shots are a little aged and ragged and most of these kids are married or even parents now but somehow, when I looked at that ramshackle bulletin board I built 13 years ago, it took me back to the days when New College was buzzing with loud, happy voices and students talking about everything under the sun. My office was the hub of New College back then and I loved every minute of it. Helping these kids was more than a simple job to me, it was a life force. I became close to many of them and welcomed new ones into our wonderful little community in the safe confines of Roosevelt Hall.


Those pictures are a representation of all my hard work, helping to guide, befriend and shape their lives in ways I could never imagine and didn't think possible. I have a million fears about making a commitment to be a parent but in many ways, I did just that with complete strangers, taking care of other peoples children while they were miles away from home.


I never planned on being a college administrator, it just happened. It's a long story but the quickie version is that my husband worked with someone at the Hicksville Library whose daughter was an administrator in New College. I was an employed writer working at IBM as an assistant bullshit artist, making no dough. She asked Vic if I needed a new job and to have me fax over my resume and cover letter. The rest is history my friends. I thought the job was going to be in the Registrar's Office, behind one of the God-awful Bursar windows, but instead, I WAS the Registrar of New College with my own office. I was so desperate to get out of IBM when I got hired, I packed up, lock stock and barrel and high tailed it out of there within a week.


I got married three weeks later and upon returning home from my honeymoon, I began my slow, upward journey to the holy land of academia. It was a place where higher learning meant something and faculty cared about their students. We really were a family back then and it was real I promise you, dysfunction and all. I miss it all the time. I thought it would last forever, but when a school closes and everyone is dispersed, it's more than sad...it's painful and deserves a proper burial. I still mourn its loss every time I speak to an old student or get a call from them, letting me know how they are. I'm sure they meant more to me than I to them, but I felt a part of what I thought would be a lasting community and when it ended, I felt like a president without a country to govern. I am still lost and am trying desperately to adapt to my new role there. I'm sure things will work out in the long term but I'll never forget all those kids that magically changed my life. I'll always wonder how they are and if their lives have turned out well. But, for now, I'll keep my pictures close at hand so I can revisit another special light and time in my life.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Immediate Response

Sarah Palin is a wind-up, Stepford Wife doll, robotic in her responses. I need this to sit with me a few more hours before I can clearly state how outraged I am by her nonsense and inarticulate speech. Anyone who says words like "dogonit" on national television while running for public office, especially as the possible VP of America, is not fit to fill those shoes. I want someone smarter than I am who can clearly answer the important questions...I can tell you off the bat, it's not Sarah Palin, no way, no how. I'll address more of this in the morning but for now, I'll leave you with this to grow on....After sitting through a fascinating program earlier today with former New York State Govenor, Mario Cuomo and foreign policy expert, Richard Haas, I realized just how inept the McCain/Palin ticket really is....More on this tomorrow. My mind is racing. I don't think I'm going to sleep a wink tonight.