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freeing a soul : september 2001

9.29.2001

op ed on US policies

this made me feel a little better, especially the part about the house and congress not accepting the extreme legislative package that would have put a serious dent in human liberties.

Progress and Problems
posted by belen 12:15 PM

interesting

an article in the NYTimes about the US Arab Intellectual community about what has been the cause of the Arab nations hostility.

Response to Attack Splits Arabs in the West
posted by belen 12:05 PM

9.26.2001

olympia job

well, they didnt offer me the position i applied for, but they are hooking me up with their online dept, to possibly do contract work that may turn into an offer as the dept grows. thats cool, they knew my strength was web, not print.

i had a phone meeting with AGA today that was great. i hope we can book along on this site and have it out in a few weeks. they also talked to me about later phases, including online registration for lessons etc. and they are interested me being the webmaster. *and* they want to talk to me about coming back and doing some work on their databases that i built for them :)

goodness :) nice to be needed!
posted by belen 12:28 PM

9.25.2001

the waiting game

and so the job situation continues to play the waiting game, but i am actually rather pleased.

the olympia job called me yesterday afternoon, but i wasnt home, so he left a message to call him back. i called this morning, and again this afternoon, but still havent heard back...this leads me to believe that perhaps he was just calling to let me know they selected the other candidate. we shall see, i suppose.

no word at all from NOLA...but they have been schizophrenic at best :)

now, its the florida interview phonecall that i find interesting. i sent my resume to a company in clearwater, FL on sunday on the off-chance that they might be interested in me. its a lovely area, and the job sounded great. so they emailed me monday morning and asked to interview me today.

and it went *REALLY* well. i think i am a great match for their needs and small office environment. and they were so charming...they talked about how they are interviewing all week but they mentioned *3* times that they were really impressed with my work....talked about how much i would like clearwater. i was really happy with the whole scope of the interview. and they said they were going to make a decision by early next week...and they would call regardless and let me know.

<crosses fingers> maybe this is what the karma angels have been making me wait for. :)
posted by belen 6:08 PM

9.23.2001

fascination

me, the most non-political girl on the planet, is *fascinated* by any articles i can find on the non-mainstream ideas on the political & diplomatic relationships between the US & middle east.

in the crushing media frenzy we are drowning in which chants over and over and over about the ignorance and cowardice of terrorists, of waging war until all responsible are wiped out, about hard-line policies and how the US will prevail and that we are strong and united and "will wipe out this threat", i find myself wanting to really understand something beyond the hype. beyond what we are being spoon-fed.

terrorism is atrocious. what happened was awful.

but i want to understand the larger world picture...see the atrocities that have been happening to these people, the things that the US populace blithely ignored because it didnt touch their lives...things that happened to people far away, who may or may not have deserved it.

i want to understand *why* the middle east hates the US so much. if so many people feel this way, there has to be *SOMETHING* behind it, doesnt there? i have struggled all my life to understand that each person lives life from their own perspective, and i want to understand what is happening to us from that idea. what have we done, in these people's eyes?

perhaps, most of it is from the idea that i fear the hard-line mentality that comes with blanket statements of declaring war. i fear the single-minded focus the US will find itself in as this ball continues to roll downhill, toward inevitable ends. even if i understand that sometimes, reason and diplomacy dont work, and one must use force.

bottom line, i dont think the US is completely innocent. in *some* way, they have been involved in things that have lead to this. and i would like to understand that, even if it wouldnt change anything.

i saw an interview today with Noam Chomsky, a notorious dissdent against US foreign policy. Here is that link: http://www.b92.net/intervju/eng/
2001/0919-chomsky.phtml

once i read it, i wanted a little more background on this man, because i understood that his ideas were very extreme and out of the mainstream. here is that link if you are interested...i think it helps to temper what someone says with their background. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive
/Article/0,4273,4120040,00.html

this is an account of an italian journalist who was in beirut when the attacks happened. *this* is exactly the kind of thing that makes me want to understand a society of people so scarred and molded by their life experiences that they would react like this. http://www.opinionjournal.com/
extra/?id=95001194
posted by belen 12:38 PM

9.20.2001

Woody stirs trouble in Olympia
posted by belen 3:32 PM

happy birthday to me!

so its finally time to be 27 :) i like this getting older thing...i keep getting wiser. rather nice. of course, i havent gotten wrinkles yet...we'll see what i think then <winks>

so the boy is back after 3 weeks away...nice to have him home again.

i found this really interesting commentary on the idea that war and retaliation is exactly what the terrorists wanted...and why. take a look: http://www.independent.co.uk/
story.jsp?story=94254
posted by belen 11:26 AM

9.19.2001

life as we know it

there are a few things i have found out recently that make my heart heavy for people i love...that make me wish i was closer to them. but they know i am here, whatever they need.

as for me, life continues on.

david is supposed to fly home today :) we'll see if his flight actually takes off with him *on* it!

the newspaper called me and got a list of references to call. it is down to myself and 1 other person. still havent heard anything more from NOLA.

but other work keeps be busy...its *so* nice to have stuff to do. there is a design project for alex, small, but still money. i am still working on messyfun and AGA. and in between there are some favors for friends projects :) i am definately a happier camper when there is *work* to be done!

the sun is finally out again here after 3 days of clouds :) i am going to go run errands as soon as i am done with breakfast. its chilly...only 53 right now.
posted by belen 10:41 AM

9.18.2001

band geeks

any of you who were in band in high school can perhaps understand the lump in my throat when i read this. i always felt so invincible being part of that larger whole...i loved my time in band. but the idea of taking that whole and doing this made me very teary.

The Band Marches In
A joyful noise in the streets of New York City.

September 16, 2001 11:30 a.m.

When I was walking back to my apartment yesterday, I heard the clangor of a marching band, getting closer. I walked to the corner of 14th Street and Fifth Avenue — where on Tuesday people had stood and watched the towers burn — and suddenly there appeared a small marching band, all black kids, in purple shirts, playing, "When the Saints Come Marching In." They crossed Fifth, and people stopped to watch, smile, and clap.

It turned out they were from Oakwood College in Hunstville, Alabama. Someone had had the inspired idea to drive 24 hours to come here and raise a joyful
noise in the streets of New York City. What a sight! A kid held an American flag at the front of the group, and a couple of others held shovels over their
shoulders. After all the sadness, the prayer vigils and the candles, here was something clamorous and happy and resolute (and even a little martial). This
is what we needed, even if no one had realized it until this noisy apparition appeared among us, conducting the normal business of a New York Saturday
— walking our dogs, carrying plastic grocery bags, strolling idly toward brunch--but with the pall of downtown muting everything.

The band headed to Union Square, where a makeshift memorial has been thrown up. Stragglers followed behind, and people parted to make way, clapping as the kids passed through, blowing on their trumpets, banging on their drums. When they got in the middle of the square, they played the "Star Spangled Banner." One of those half-crazy blacks guys you sometimes see in New York, was waving a flag and practically jumping up and down: "You go kids! You go kids!"

A Hispanic woman hugged one of the girls with the group, and pressed $20 into her hand. "I really want to hear `Battle Hymn of the Republic'," she said, when the band paused in between songs. Next, "Amazing Grace," played softly, just on the horns. Then, everyone sang "God Bless America," without the
accompaniment of the band, which eventually turned around and headed out of the square, drums blazing, one black lady making a point of hugging every member of the group that she could. A black guy approached the one white member of the group — walking in back, not playing an instrument — and extended his hand, saying emphatically, "THANK YOU!"

The band headed down University Avenue, playing "America the Beautiful," a wonderfully bizarre sight, marching the wrong way down the one-way street. Car alarms went off as the band passed. Each step of the way, people paused on the sidewalks and applauded. People peered out of the windows of stores and restaurants. More people followed along. "I don't know where they're going, but I'm with them," someone said.

They turned out to be headed to Washington Square Park, a short walk away, where another spontaneous memorial had been erected. They marched into the middle of the park, past the candles and the missing posters up on a fence, and played the "Star Spangled Banner" again. A hispanic woman hugged the kid carrying the flag, and buried her face into his neck and began to sob and sob. She was inconsolable, bleary-eyed, her nose red with crying. She was carrying a couple of flowers and a color photocopy of a family — with one of its members presumably gone forever. The kid with the flag eventually stood back in his place. Other band members hugged the lady, who — may God comfort her — was giving off waves of heart-rending grief. The kid holding the flag began to cry, and as his eyes filled with tears, he hoisted the flag higher with both his arms.

Then, the band’s leader — an older, take-charge-type — consulted with one of the locals about how to find the next park, and off they marched. They were part of a group called National Association for the Prevention of Starvation. I know nothing about the group except that its website says that, “NAPS takes its marching band on all of its major projects to minister to the spirit of the recipients of its aid.” Yesterday, they ministered to the spirit of New York.
posted by belen 10:42 AM

9.17.2001

toadies

i popped in the toadies today, and i had forgotten just how much i liked them.

i have this driving urge to dance around the house naked to its primal beat :)

this cd always reminds me of austin...how unbelievably sexy he was as he danced around his room to it..his hair flopping in his eyes, his body caught in the beat.

i have thought about him a lot lately...i so deeply regret that things went so badly between us. he sparked so much magic and creativity in me. there was something about being near him that really hit all my buttons. he was alive in a way that i had forgotten existed when i met him.

the details of our time together remain so sharp in my mind, and i enjoy returning to them and tasting them. i think much of where i am now is due to his presence in my life at that time. its like i woke up from a long sleep. it was a bad time to be my significant other...but i could never thank him enough for sharing those months with me.

when i made "control issues" and started creating the monsters, i thought about how he would have laughed about them, crinkled up his nose and grinned at me for bringing my issues to life - giving them the chance to run free.

so many people thought he was a raving nutbag...i thought he was amazing. his intensity was an inspiration. unfortunately, i had my own problems to deal with, and that intensity was just too much for me in the end. i often wonder if there was *any* good way to end my relationship with him...perhaps it was bound to be messy.

a year after we broke up, i heard from him once...he left a message saying he had a picture to show me...he said "hi belen...i'm not bitter anymore..." i tried to call him back, but only got his machine, and never saw the pic. i still wonder, and wish i could get ahold of him.

oh well, perhaps someday i will be lucky enough to speak with him again. magical boy.
posted by belen 11:25 AM

*goodness*

so today i get an email from another of the NOLA companies i sent my resume to. he has corresponded with me early last week, saying my portfolio was impressive and asked about my rates. and then i didnt hear anything.

but this morning, there was another email asking for references and about my copywriting experience.

wow...wouldnt it be *great* to be able to choose to stay in olympia or move to NOLA, both places offering jobs??

whew! well, i am going to try not to get too excited :)
posted by belen 10:20 AM

9.14.2001

round 2

well, i think it went really well. i met the online director and the advertising director.

we went through my portfolio and talked about what i had done. we talked a lot about the different aspects that i have worked with. they seemed really really impressed with my work.

it sounds like they are looking into having a web team that offers their clients design services, in addition to the newspaper's needs.

that sounds reallllllly cool :)

and then the original guy i interviewed with gave me a mini print project to try my hand at. so i worked for about 45 minutes, and although i have no idea what he wanted, i guess i am pretty happy with what i ended up with.

i still think i am better suited for a web kind of position, but we'll see what they think :)

i should hear back monday or tuesday.
posted by belen 5:41 PM

humorous

i am frantically digging through bins of clothes for something to wear...and i am having to unbury my work cloths.

take out the corsets

take out teh restraints

put aside the riding crop

move the pcv nurses outfit.

i just find this highly amusing.
posted by belen 1:26 PM

olympia, after all?

just as we have been seriously comtemplating new orleans, almost ready to buy tickets and take the plunge, a new development occurs.

The Olympian (the local paper) calls be back about that interview.

and wants a 2nd interview today.

to meet the head of the advertising dept and the online dept. he said they might be able to put me in the online dept bec of my background...

so i go in at 2:30 to interview again, and to work on a project there for a few hours to see how it goes.

goodness!

well, karma angels lead the way for their own reasons...perhaps they have a plan for me.
posted by belen 1:17 PM

9.12.2001

America: The Good Neighbor.

Widespread but only partial news coverage was given recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television
commentator. What follows is the full text of his trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record:

"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth.

Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and
forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and their
reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it.

When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities were flattened by tornadoes.
Nobody helped.

The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars! into discouraged countries. Now
newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans.

I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States
dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo
Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes?

does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese
technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles.

You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon -! not once, but several times - and safely home again.

You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded.

They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke.

I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with
their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those."

Stand proud, America!

posted by belen 2:29 PM

on the job front

so today i had my interview with The Olympian.

i decided to walk there (about a mile). i needed to mail a package for my sister (who ended up very spoiled for her birthday) and the post office was on the way.

so instead of 3" heels and a suit, i chose a more casual look: black pants, black tank top, blue cotton button up shirt with french cuffs, black boots. i left the lip ring in, but put my hair up in a french twist. and get this: makeup :) i never wear it anymore...it was strange!

and i have *no* idea if i looked particularly attractive today, but apparently Olympia thought so. i didnt put on the button-up shirt until i got there, so i was just roaming around in the tank top and pants. and men were hanging out of car windows, whistling, shouting, one said i looked "OOOOOW!" nice respectable men were turning around in their cars as they drove by.

that was a pleasant and amusing diversion in my wanderings today :)

so i got to the interview and the job turned out to be very different than i thought. the director of the dept was a mid-30's attractive highly focused guy. he had just come into this job 3 months ago and was basicly "building the dept he needed". this job is...diverse, i guess is the best word. i cant put my finger exactly on what he is looking for...my *impression* is that it involves being the highly creative whirlwind that makes his visions come to life. he has ideas about campaigns, this person finds a way to bring them to life, pulling together the visual and written resources to make the campaign go, creating consistancy throughout, and making each campaign unique. in record time. :) its a parttime position that he is looking to make into fulltime by january.

the job sounds interesting...it would definately be a challenge. a very intense corner of marketing that i havent had a ton of exposure to.

so he will give me a call if he wants me to come back for round 2. prob sit me in front of a computer for a few hours and see what i can do.

anyway, i felt pretty good about it all. we'll see what happens.

on the NOLA front, the woman i am talking to at DIG (Digital Innovations Group) gave me a better idea of what they pay their contractors: $35-40/hr. so that sounds promising. if we go up to hunt for apartments, i am going to see if she wants to have lunch while we are there.

and apparently, my beloved alex has a job for me :) we havent really talked yet, but i am excited about the prospect :)
posted by belen 12:22 PM

9.11.2001

battle of the news stations

obviously my heart goes out to all those touched by today's tragedies.

but personally, at this moment, it pains me so much to see the newscasters. after 15 hours of talking, of holding america's hand and guiding them through this tragedy today, they look haggard, old, tired, pained and weary. they look like they need a long bath and a backrub. as their faces continue to flicker across our screens, more and more, they seem to represent a ravaged nation, stunned, exhausted and at a loss, despite all the words.

i can only imagine what the work crews and amazing rescue people look like.

in my personal, selfish attempt to escape for just a little while tonight, i popped in a movie.

chasing amy.

that movie, above all others, always feels like my movie. its not my "favorite"...but it is the movie that so often i can totally identify with.

my movie, my struggles, my pain, my peace.

good fucking movie.
posted by belen 10:38 PM

terrified

a nation sits, glassy-eyed and trembling, staring at news coverage of the destruction.

other nations live in perpetual fear of fire from the sky, gunfire, terror, unspeakable tragedies...but they don't touch our daily lives.

they are sad distant realities.

and then someone gives us a taste of what terror really is.

our safe little nest breeched.

an entire generation of people who have never known war, never seen death...stunned and heartsick, drinking their double-tall lattes, wondering what is happening to their world.

posted by belen 9:45 AM

9.10.2001

back to the old way of doing things

remembering the determination in which i forced my way back into UT 3 years ago, i am trying a new approach.

the more i thought about being in new orleans, the more excited i got. and so rather than sitting around hoping that job would come through, i decided to really hunt down what i wanted.

the classifieds were stark.

well, so what?

time to put myself in some people's faces.

so last night, i spent a lot of time researching new orleans high tech industry. i found the Louisiana Technology Council online (based in NO) and started going through their lists of design firms and placement agencies.

and i must have spammed 30 people with my resume. design firms with my standard pitch, including the fact that i was relocating to NO and looking remotely to secure work before arriving. it seems the assertion that i am moving helps people to actually notice me, rather than the nebulous statement that i would "be happy to relocate".

placement agencies got a more broad list of my skills in marketing, admin, design and project management, with the statement that i would like to remain in design, but would also be willing to shift toward admin in search of a secure job.

and already this morning, i have responses...one that loves my work and wished they could hire me fulltime but cant, but asked for my rates, and suggested other firms. another who hires contractors and is very interested in talking to me. and one other who didnt have availability.

but the BIG SPARKLY KEY here is that they *answered*! in a sea of 70+ of my emails floating in the nebulous world of HR departments too overwhelmed to respond, these wonderful NO folks are already responding, even when it isnt great news.

i cannot tell you how rewarding it is, even when it is rejection, to know that a human took the time to look at and admire my work.

<sighs> i have a good feeling about this. maybe i really can make this work.

its all about attitude :)
posted by belen 11:50 AM

9.9.2001

the beauty of loss

"If you left me," I said, "you'd take so much of me with you that I'd be inside you, looking back at what was left - the husk of Philip Engstrand we'd abandoned." --Jonathan Lethem As She Climbed Across the Table

the beauty that i could not see when i experienced this so long ago was that when i was left with that husk of me, i was then free to fill it carefully with the things that truly made *me* unique and happy, instead of desperately grasping at anything and everything that anyone would toss my way. the pain of surviving and thriving from that emptiness, of rebuilding my life, myself and my ability to love and give was the most beautiful, self-rewarding, eye-opening experience i could have ever had. from the greatest pain and insanity grew deeper understanding, forgiveness and new, bright wings for me.

something to remember in the midst of that agony....for myself...and for anyone else willing to believe it.
posted by belen 4:08 PM

one wish

if i had one wish at this very moment (the smaller, manageable variety, not the large-scale impossible variety) it would be to have either a porch or a balcony to sit on. something shady, scenery optional (whether ideal for people watching or seclusion, it matters not).

i have been extremely moody and restless and cranky for 2 days...mostly pms. but in my walk to the library and back (twice, bec i forgot my card) i had the dawning moment of realization that if i just had someplace of my own to sit outside, my world would be infinately more content.

i was blaming it on lack of good coffee shops, comfortable places to sit and write or read...and then i narrowed that complaint to realize that it is simply the inability to have a quiet comfortable place to sit in this lovely weather. i dont particularly want to hike or explore or have an adventure...i just want to sit quietly and do my thing, while soaking up the bliss of what is sure to be the tail end of breathtaking weather before the perpetual rain.

i was thinking of renee and rianda's porch in oregon and how once i was there, i didnt want to move. thats all i need right now. not much to ask!

so i guess the next time we hunt for places to live, very very high on my list is a place where i can have a table and a few chairs outside, in a semi-covered spot so even when there is a good storm, i can still sit outside and drink tea and enjoy it.

<laughs> i am so easy to please these days. some people want jacuzzi bathtubs. not me...just give me someplace to sit and plant some flowers. :)
posted by belen 2:42 PM

jonesing for a dre

sunday morning...padding around the house in my bathrobe...

fixing a mushroom, brocolli, onion, bacon, and feta cheese omlette.

thinking that andre should be here.

omlettes and dre.

well-known law of the universe.

have you had your bolivian house-boy-turned-fireman in a sarong making omlettes in your kitchen lately?

his services are legendary...just ask around :)
posted by belen 11:59 AM

9.8.2001

kodak commercials continued

i saw another of those commercials...i guess they did a whole series of them. my understanding is that they are addressing that "popular kids vs freaks" thing with the idea that everyone sees the world in a different yet beautiful way :)

so this one was in high school with this girl snapping pics of everyone...(cute goth girl was there too) and then she puts pics up on the bulletin board...one of a cheerlader type, and another of a lovely freak-boi, 2 seperate pics, but the way she has them arranged, they are looking at each other smiling on the bb board. and then you see the 2 of them standing there next to each other looking at the bb board and they turn to each other and give each other "the look" and you know that its going to be game on.

these commercials just hit all my right buttons. not sure why....i guess its just the plethora of lovely freaks they portray :) i like that.
posted by belen 4:51 PM

today in olympia...

i went to the harbor to sit and write...

> i met a vagrent named "stephen with a ph not a d" (i didnt even bother to ask where the d would go)

> there was a little girl (about 3-4) who was desperately trying to walk on the boards on the deck and not step on one of the cracks in between...and after a moment's observation, it was apparent from her anxienty that it was because she *genuinely* believed that she would fall between the cracks into the water below. <grins> when you're little, everything is very big. i think that is something we forget.

the day is absolutely delicious here today. cooler than it has been, sunny and beautiful much like early oct in austin.
posted by belen 4:46 PM

9.7.2001

little goth girl commercial

ok, i am *SO* enchanted by the kodak commerial that has just come out...

for those of you who havent seen it:

very very cute goth girl: pale, clad in black, long black hair, red red lips

taking pics with a kodak disposable camera at a state fair...looking in crevices and holes etc - so you know the pics are "bizarre"

then she is in school, standing in front of the class, and holds up a posterboard with the pics on it and the whole class makes these horrified, disgusted faces, and then this lovely goth boy leans into the aisle, sees what she is holding and smiles at her.

it is just so darling.

ok, so maybe i just want to do her.
posted by belen 8:29 PM

flasher

so i decided that i should continue doing more things with flash...especially things i can show on my resume (i didnt think control issues was show material :)

so here is my latest project. i am still fine-tuning, so if you see anything wacky or have comments, *please* dont hestiate to drop me an email!

here you go... http://inside.belen.net/intro2.html
posted by belen 7:30 PM

9.6.2001

down with chicken

in my attempt to eat more meat, i have found that out of everything, chicken is offending me the most. (we are, of course, not counting all those completely disgusting fatty meats and sausages)

i can do lean beef. i can do turkey. i can even do *bacon*. i cannot, however, manage chicken.

i bought a big pag of it, thinking "i used to live on this stuff...chicken is what i will eat the most of."

no. once its prepared, if it is flavorfully spiced, i can eat it. but preparing it just turns my stomach. the smell of it cooking <BLECH>

i just don't understand. for whatever reason, chicken is no longer my meat of choice.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

and now for some good news:

the olympia newspaper had an opening on its staff for a marketing communications specialist, so i applied.

and i have an interview on wed! :)

its part-time, but i am afraid it may be a bit difficult to prove i am qualified for the job...i think its mostly writing based, and i just dont have any samples to show. i *know* i can do the job, but convincing them of that is another story. i guess we'll just see how it goes :)
posted by belen 8:05 PM

cat-assisted yoga

zephyr *loves* when i do yoga. all of a sudden, in the cat world, Mommy becomes a jungle gym.

if my body is forming any kind of arch, the game is Ring-Around-The-Mommy...the goal being to run in circles through all the arches over, under, through my limbs.

if i am sitting, he goes behind me, gets up on his front legs and wraps his front paws around my neck from behind, burying his wet nose in my ear and purring like mad.

wherever my hands are, no matter what they are doing, he is slamming his head into them and making happy little Pet-Me-I'm-Cute noises.

and at the end when i am a sweaty heap lying down for the blessed and revered relaxation section, he is walking on top of me, giving me kisses, sticking his nose in my closed eyes, licking my armpits...and sometimes he just lies doen on top of my chest like the conquering master.

cat-assisted yoga is a very challenging event. perhaps the zen i am giving off sends my cat into delerious fits of happiness. i'm not exactly sure what happens...but yoga has come to be not quite the peaceful quiet event it once was...its more like a wrestling match with the cat. :)
posted by belen 1:47 PM

9.5.2001

cha-ching!

i am happy to say that the pool company has decided to go ahead with the website, so i have some good steady work to do for while. its a big project and i am *SO* excited to be doing this site for them (if you dont understand why, read past entries).

well, today dialpad (www.dialpad.com) who i use to make all my my long distance calls for free has decided that free calls can only be 5 minutes long and for more uninterrupted time, you must pay. <sighs> depressing. but i did play with the Talk feature on AIM and it turns out that if you both have headsets, its a very effective means of chatting verbally :) so i will have to make do between the two of them.

i think that summer is over here. for a while it was eeking up to 85 some days...but this week we have returned to 70. so i think we are on the downswing...wanna smack me for saying that while you are sweating your asses off and outside my window is 70 and sunny? hehehe...tough - you will have to come here to do it :)
posted by belen 5:32 PM

9.2.2001

the newspaper

recovering from a *very* drunken night and waiting for bob to get off work, i spent the bulk of the day today reading the seattle paper. its been *SO* long since i have just sat and read a paper...and boy did i learn some interesting stuff.

the person thought to have the world's longest hair (19 ft 1 inch) died last weekend. he lived in thailand.

vancouver is a *HUGE* drug trafficing port and where most of the really pure good herion and cocaine come into N. America. apparently the city is just a hotbed of drugs...and people just sit outside in some of the slums, shooting up their drug of choice in broad daylight. canada is trying to figure out how it wants to handle this epidemic and are pushing hard for Clean Injection Centers...basicly places where people can go, shoot up their drugs in a sterile, safe evironment and then be on their way.

and in the meantime, there is a group called VANDU (vancouver area network of drug users) who consist of current and former drug addicts who, in return for their services, recieve small amounts of their drug of choice. what they do is walk around the slum areas, talk to users, offer them clean needles etc, check on people who might be passed out overdosing, call for medical help if necessary...basicly they meander around seeing how they can be of assistance to this community. interesting, huh? darn friendly canadian intervenious drug users!

and in lisbon, portugal, they are trying a new "third" option in handling drug problems (#1 being US's no tolerence and #2 being Hollands legalization). they have started a program where anyone caught *using* drugs is not given prison time. instead, they are required to attend a certain number of Drug Intervention and Counciling sessions. their theory is that the trafficers are the criminals, the users the victims - so treat them accordingly. no jail time for being caught using...only required rehab programs. imagine that!

also in the news were horror stories of how many times the FBI has fucked up in accusing innocent people of being spies.

extensive articles about the lack of preparation and proper training for the poor firefighters out there battling all these forest fires...too many fresh ones and not enough leaders...crews being dropped with 1/2 cocked orders...moral-squashing policy to not promote anyone over the age of 35 to some of the higher positions because they wont be around for the 20 years to get their pensions with the madatory retirement age of 55.

the crown prince of norway married a total gutter-trash commoner! she was a waitress, had a 4 yr old son from a previous relationship, was an avid drug-user and was big in the underground party scene. and she is now the crown princess. its like modern day cinderella! they did note that she now says that she recnts her view on drugs and no longer does them. small price to pay for the crown!

today poked me into realizing that just in reading the first section of the paper, i get to learn a whole lot of neat crap :)

posted by belen 11:22 PM

9.1.2001

temptress

because bob loves me very very much, he is picking me up tonight to head out to the catwalk tonight.

<grins> apprenetly it is Austin Reunion Night...there are now *7* of us here...bob, mike, nicole, mona, one more i havent met, and me & david. this is getting a little rediculous! but then, who needs to make friends with the locals? we can just import our *own* goths :)

so tonight, after much rifling through clothing and deciding that a corset would only make me feel like a porker tonight, i have settled on my long flowy black velvet skirt with the slits (eat your heart out...i can wear velvet in aug...uh...september) and a lovely tank top i picked up last time i was in austin (buffalo exchange, of course, with my never ending karma cash!).

and i actually feel a small semblence of the temptress i was. i almost feel vampy :) and i imagine after a few drinks, i will be in full-swing :) perhaps its the boots...when you pull on 5" platform boots, you just have to feel sexy!

so i know the club will have very little music i want to dance to...i will be spending money i dont have...*but* i will have my 2nd favorite man bob to love me and a lot of familiar faces.

on an amusing note, after the silent but vicious feuding and emotions re: monica because of damon, i find it highly entertaining and wonderful that since she has moved here, bob says she has been asking about me :) when i went to austin, i made it a point to make peace with her about damon and encouraged her to make the move to the NW that she ahd been pondering...i guess the peace negotiations went well :) perhaps i have found a new career path?
posted by belen 7:44 PM