Good Friday always makes me think back to the First House of Clocks. One of the more notorious parties we had there was the Be Bad on Good Friday Party. We crucified Ian and played Pin the Nail of Jesus. I remember someone shouting "the beer's on fire!" and rushing to put out the flames. You know it's a real party when you have a beer fire.

We had music in the old tinfoil covered playroom. The old playroom was crazy. I mean, really crazy. Tinfoil walls, strange paintings along with random items screwed into the ceiling. I had written on the walls and the floors. Blissfully hopeful things and abysmally awful things. The pictures on the walls didn't match up spatially with their frames. A Twister mat was the table cloth. It was me. Me then. Strange, cluttered, mismatched, bright, stark, broken, glowing, and scary. I'm different now. I am no longer that room. I am breaking out of a chrysalis, not sure yet of what I have become.

From the The Universal Household Assistant or What Every One Should Know (1884):

Cockroaches — ways to destroy. — 1. The disagreeable odor which the cockroach emits, and which soon permeates all places that it inhabits, proceeds from a dark colored fluid which it discharges from the mouth. The cockroach loves warmth and moisture, hence its populousness in kitchens where fire and water are almost ever present. It is a night prowler, and swarms out from its secret lairs on the departure of daylight.    For the destruction of the cockroach we recommend a mixture containing a tablespoonful of red lead, the same amount of indian meal, with molasses enough to make a thick batter. Set this on a plate at night in places frequented by the insects and all that eat of it will be poisoned. Another preparation is composed of one teaspoonful of powdered arsenic, with a tablespoonful of mashed potato. Crumble this every night at bed-time where the insects will find it, and it is said to be an effectual poison. Great care should be exercised in the use of such dangerous agents. An innocent method of destroying cockroaches is to place a bowl or basin containing a little molasses on the floor at night. A bit of wood, resting one end on the floor and the other on the edge of the vessel, serves as a bridge to conduct the insects to the sweet deposit. Once in the trap its slippery sides prevent retreat, and thus cockroaches may be caught by the thousands.    2. The following i said to be effectual: these vermin are easily destroyed, simply by cutting up green cucumbers at night, and placing them about where roaches commit depredations. What is cut from the cucumbers in preparing them for the table answers the purpose as well, and three applications will destroy all the roaches in the house. Remove the peelings in the morning and renew them at night.    3. Common red wafers, to be found at any stationers, will answer the purpose. The cockroaches eat them and die. Also, sprinkle powdered borax plentifully around where "they most do congregate," and renew it occasionally; in a short time not a roach will be seen. This is a safe and most effectual exterminator.    4. Borax is a very good cockroach exterminator. Take some pieces of board, spread them over with molasses, only sufficient to make the borax when sprinkled upon it stick, and place the boards in their haunts. Gum camphor is a speedy remedy to clear the house of cockroaches.

From the The Universal Household Assistant or What Every One Should Know (1884):

Lamps — why they explode. — Many things may occur to cause the flame to pass down the wick tube and explode the lamp.    1. A lamp may be standing on a table or mantle, and a slight puff of air from the open window or the sudden opening of a door, cause an explosion.    2. A lamp may be taken quickly from a table or mantle, and instantly explode.    3. A lamp is taken into an entry where there is a draft, or out of doors, and an explosion quickly ensues.    4. A lighted lamp may be taken up a flight of stairs, or is raised quickly to a place on the mantle, resulting in an explosion. In all these cases the mischief is caused by the air movement -- either by suddenly checking the draft, or forcing the air down the chimney against the flame.    5. Blowing down the chimney to extinguish the light is frequently the cause of an explosion.    6. Lamp explosions have been caused by using a chimney broken off the top, or one that has a piece broken out, whereby the draft is rendered variable and the flame unsteady.    7. Sometimes a thoughtless person puts a small-sized wick in a large burner, thus leaving considerable space in the tube along the edges of the wick.    8. An old burner with its air drafts clogged up, which rightfully should be thrown away, is sometimes continued in use, and the final result is an explosion.

This photograph was taken about a little over an hour before I left Saint Thomas for London — after the hair fire incident. The candles in the photo are the ones that my hair was caught with. The robe I'm wearing in the photo is the inexpensive article of clothing I lost on my journey back to Boston.


photo by goldmourn

Yesterday was wonderful. I couldn't wait until evening, so I took the bus out to Burlington to meet up with purpleglitter for lunch during her break. If it weren't for the infrequentness of the buses, I would meet her for lunch more regularly.

When she arrived home after work, purpleglitter brought me a dozen roses, one for each year we've been together. She took me out to Vinny T's for dinner, which was the perfect choice. Back at her house, we had champagne and chatted away the night. We had planned to watch Tipping the Velvet, but never got around to playing the movie.

Quiet, romantic, happy. I couldn't have asked for a better anniversary.

Still going strong.

I made the birds a new mix this morning: beak appétit, mashed organic peas, organic spring salad mix, crumbed Ezekiel 4:9 bread, seed mix, and fruit and veggie mix. Not as fancy as some of my other bird mixes, but they still love it.

mazzycat is always a joy to spend time with, and she seems to prefer the regular scheduled playtimes over the more haphazard playtimes of the past.

I did much cleaning. I did a load of dishes downstairs, took out my air conditioner which hasn't been used for over a month, worked my altar, organized my desk, did some other decorating, and did quite a bit of cleaning and organizing. The octagonal table is now the only one non-floor surface in my room containing anything that shouldn't go there. It has been years since it has been in this state. In fact, my room is rapidly and finally approaching that magic word: CLEAN. If I continue this for the rest of the week, it may just reach that point.

I also hung a sign above the door to my room which reads: "If you find yourself in a hole... STOP DIGGING!". Perhaps some might think it cheesy, but I think it a good message for me to keep mindful of.

For breakfast yesterday I had a veggie burger with basil mozzarella cheese and barbecue sauce; for lunch I had pizza balls with basil mozzarella, faux ham, and faux turkey topped with parmesan cheese; for dinner I had spaghetti in pizza sauce with parmesan cheese; for my healthy snack I had cashews.

Food went well, but I only got half of my half hour of exercise in with a walk up to Arlington Center and back in last evening's thunderstorm. Getting in my exercise is going to be hard right now because I've been having lots of wobbly/dizzy/fally/seizurey/whatever-the-hell-who-knows-the-doctors-apparently-don't episodes, but I will not let that be an excuse. I will continue to try to make Project Three Meals work. I refuse to let this crap control my life.

For breakfast I had spaghetti in tomatoe sauce with peppers and parmesan cheese, for lunch I had paneer butter masala with rice, for dinner I had two slices of faux chipotle sausage pizza with basil mozzarella baked on a garlic and herb crust, and for my healthy snack I had pumpkin seeds.

I was sitting on my desk, spaced out, and before I could realizes what I was doing I had eaten a significant number of peanut chews. Having already foiled my day, I opted to have cookies later on when offered and I didn't get any exercise.

I know the reasoning "I already screwed up, what the hell?" isn't the best and that I should strive to get as close as I can regardless of how well the rest of the day went. But I had already screwed up, so what the hell. Great "logic', eh? I'll do better and I intend to win the wager.

After slacking off most of the week, I made significant progress on my room yesterday and this morning. I believe I've passed the halfway mark.

I've decided that as long as I have to move everything to clean under them, I might as well rearrange my room - something I haven't done since I moved in. I'm ditching the octagonal table, and am going to put Severus on purpleglitter's old desk and move the bed toward the front of the room.

I'm also putting yard sale stuff in the cupboard I picked up cheap at Oona's a couple months ago. Perhaps on a nearby Saturday i can actually have the yard sale I've been planning for years.

purpleglitter, iamacliche, and I set off yesterday afternoon for the Arlington Town Day festivities. When we arrived at Arlington Center we could see no tables or booths or crowds of people. purpleglitter and iamacliche stayed behind as I scouted ahead to see if things were set up a bit further up the Mass Ave this year. But no, they weren't. A nice old lady informed us that Arlington Town Day had been postponed until next week because of the weather. That is very disappointing, because Cindy Sheehan was supposed to be at Town Day. I doubt she'll be there when it actually occurs next week.

After finding there was no town day, we all popped into the Chai Café for lunch. I had a Limca and chole kulcha with naan and bought some cheap microwavable Indian meals. I have yet to try them, but purpleglitter says they're delicious.

Back at purpleglitter's apartment, recoiling joined the three of us to make a four of us. We watched Monsters, Inc.. While I very much enjoyed the short film For The Birds that came before the movie on the tape, but the movie bothered me. They did have some innovative ideas and some parts would have been quite funny if I could have gotten my mind past the heavy-handed sexism and gender role enforcement. The Monsters, Inc. factory has only two female employees that appear in the film as opposed to countless male employees. Out of those two employees, one is the cute, ditzy, and braindead receptionist whom everyone loves, and the ugly, pushy, and hoarse-voiced filing clerk whom everyone hates. It was like watching a film from the fifties, only this was set in a bizarre form of modern times. And this crap is for the children of the 21^st century.

Patriarchy brainwashing please, extra sudsy.

I've noticed similar problems with rolls for women in a many of cgi movies. While other mediums are far from perfect, cgi movies are decades behind live action movies and even other forms of animation in terms of feminism. Granted, I haven't seen every full length cgi film there is, but I've seen enough to know that the problem is a very pervasive one in the industry, even though it is possible there is an exception or two that I have not seen. I guess these films are free from being politically advanced because they are technologically advanced.

there are many kitties in my room behind me
the kitties like my room
there are also two humans in my room behind me
spider is suckling my coat
the legs or the table are cold
purpleglitter and merryperseis used to collect stickers
there is a rope
pulling through my head
the humans in the room are talking about alien aardvark babies
and going through my "toy drawer"
they want me off the computer
i must go

i'm flying through the air
in loops above the ground below
stars flashing in my eyes
i am flying
it's quite high up here
i'll remember no to look down for too long
looking out is much nicer
i sit
on my chair
my flying chair
i swing down.
gently touching the ground
it bounces
the ground is bouncy
my chair bounces on the ground
i move against the table
bouncing off it
holding on to it
i need to hold on so i can keep typing
i am wrapped up in words
words all around me
punctuation
everywhere
but not here
no punctuation here

Yesterday afternoon, I went to the Salvation Army with merryperseis and purpleglitter. I got a ton of new clothes for only $15. I didn't get as much summer stuff as I had planned, but I did get a wonderful knee-length piece of lingerie that will make a very nice summer dress.

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After we got back from the Salvation Army, we went and fed the geese at Spy Pond. Even the swans ate out of my hand. Only the ducks are too timid. Or too short. Or are simply afraid getting in front of the geese.

merrryperseis brought bubbles. After she was done making bubbles, she let me make them. The geese didn't quite know what to make of the bubbles. They'd inspect them as they floated by and the scurry away if they got too close.

A woman who had her toddler at the pond brought her to see the bubbles. She loved playing in the bubbles. She stayed for about ten minutes as I blew bubbles at her. It was big fun. She kept reaching his hand out trying to catch one. They always seemed to miss her hand and hit her face. She didn't seem to mind. In fact she laughed every time one hit her face.

I took much time to smell the flowers on the way back. Spy Pond is a little piece of paradise right in Arlington.

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After Spy Pond, we sat and talked in the livingroom fo an hour or so, then purpleglitter went home. Rosey joined merryperseis and I on a trip to the Diesel Café. The Diesel's front windows can be raised in a garage door type fashion as they were today. We sat at a table right on the edge of the sidewalk, which was very convenient, as Rosey could smoke and talk to us at the same time.

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Back at home, merryperseis and I spent a beautiful romantic evening together. The day would have been perfect if I didn't have a freakout in the closet after merryperseis went to bed. I woke her up and she helped me get back into a good state so I could sleep. Even with that sour note, the day was wonderful, One I wouldn't mind repeating.