The Big Orange Boy Cat sits in my lap purring loudly. He is such a wonderfully cuddly creature. Lately I have been faced with his mortality. This summer he was diagnosed with a heart disease and I was told that the only way to treat him was to find out what kind of heart disease it was and the only way to find that out was to get an expensive Xray done that would cost me somewhere between $250 and $450 depending on how far I wanted to travel to get the test done. No matter what, though, I have to take the Big Orange Boy Cat out of town, which he will be very mad about. He doesn't like being in a cat carrier and he doesn't like driving in the car. The time has come that I need to take him to get the test done. Even more so because there are these bumps popping up all over his body and the vets won't do anything until his heart isn't fragile any more. It all feels scary. I don't want to have to take him on a long trip in the car, just to take him to a scary place and then top it off with another long trip home. Then what? Probablly a regular medication. I don't want that either, but its a better option than finding out I can't do anything. And then maybe surgery to find out what the bumps are. More scary. And I have become so attatched to my regular love fests with this orange fuzz ball and to the wordy stories that he has to tell.

Oh my god, they get down on their knees and PRAY on Lost In Space, the old TV series.

There is a bone exhibit at the Science Museum right now. I got the opprotunity to escape my regular class routine and go to the museum on a field trip today. I learned that I better keep up my calcium intake with dairy products, legumes, almonds and some other things. It's better to get your daily allowence of calcium from food than from suppliments. And, personally, I need to up my level of weight baring excercise to maintain the density of my bones.
It's interesting to go on field trips with little kids. The little kid in myself comes out and I always have to face the moment when a little kid wants a turn with something before I am done with it. Sometimes, I take on the role that steps down because I'm there for the kids, to help them have the experiences. The other times, I take on the role of an equal, and I tell the child that its my turn and they need to wait their own turn.
I don't know what that says about me, but I do know that I've been looking in the mirror a lot lately and feeling like I haven't really changed a whole lot from when I was 8.

I just watched the movie "Idiocracy" which suggests that in 500 years instead of progressing technologically, people will lose intelligence (from all the TV watching and junk food consuming and dumb people breeding much more than smart people.) Y'know, it was a simple comedy by Mike Judge, but when I got done with the movie and came to do some writing and stumbled around my usual ineptness for spelling or grammer skills, I wondered whether I just may be aiding to such a possible future...
Luckily, I attend 20 minutes of Kindergarten each day, where I have already learned some important spelling rules that didn't seem to impress me the first time around.

On Saturday night The Ovulators will be performing at the Acme in Portland for a themed evening called "Sluts and Squares" and I have agreed to dress slutty. Now, I have to wonder just what "slutty" is, and then wonder if I always dress slutty. I think I dress theatrically, inspired by various rock icons and adding some cyber-sexiness with a dash of cartoon to my outfits, but if "slutty" simple refers to revealing clothing, then I dress slutty. I always think that the term "slutty" when it comes to fashion holds a certain amount of tackiness. I visualize an off the shoulder 80's thing with an ultra tight mini mini skirt and some Bad hair. I dunno, what kind of fashion do You think is "slutty", help me out here, I guess I just don't want one of my usual outfits to be able to pass into the theme of "slutty". Maybe its really all in the makeup.
But really, I am interested in what you think "slutty" looks like when it comes to clothes. That's why I have a comment section.

hmm... it seems that things may finally be back to their regular pace in the elementary school world. Snow Day thursday, 2 hour delay Friday, 3 day weekend with recognizing Martin Luther King day on monday, tuesday a 2 hour delay because of ice, and this morning, Wednesday, as I looked out my window around 7 AM, I knew we were back on track. It's been an unstable schedule, with some of the delays being announced ten minutes before I was suppose to be at work. But the inconsistent schedule has been a way of easing out of Winter break.
Now, it looks like things are melting and we're returning to the Eugene we are more familiar with. I sure have enjoyed this little winter wonderland we've had.

SAM BONDS SAM BONDS SAM BONDS!!
Tonight tonight tonight.
A Benefit for Kindtree Productions/Autism Rocks' yearly art show "Artism Autism 2007". The benefit will feature performances by The Ovulators and The CoStars. Hope to see you there. We'll wear green, if you're interested...

This Thursday, January 11th, The Ovulators and The CoStars will be performing a benefit show for Autism Rocks. Specifically, AUTISM ARTISM 2007, the annual art show of art work by people with autism. Our benefit will be at Sam Bond's Garage and is going to start at 9:00. We mean it, its not going to start at 10:00, so don't miss out. Come support autistic art!!!

Spinning through the channels of my fuzzy TV reception, I came across one of those talk with the stars/ get gossip on their lives. Not the stars in the sky, but the ones in the movies and what not. This episode in particular kept referring to "the fountain of youth" and how all these stars were finding it. Now, oddly, "the fountain of youth" is all in the hands of surgeons. Expensive alterations to the body are keeping these people "younger". Hmmm...
I always thought that diet, bathing, concious breathing, yoga, tantric sex and some type of mystery scent were the keys to staying young. It turns out that injections and hormone suppliments are whats working for the Stars.
Well, sure, they might not look wrinkled, but they sure don't look Young. They look bloated with Botox and stretched with surgery. Are those things insuring their longevity, or just their presentation?
Well, according to Suzanne Sommers, her blood test results are those of a 35 year old, when she is 60. Personally, I perfer the part of the show that talked about how in Europe older women are respected as dignified.
time up gotta go

Two of our kids grew noticably in just two weeks. Crazy. All the little ones seemed excited to be back at school. I am amazed that I have been able to shift my schedule from sleeping until 11:00 to getting up while it is still dark out. I've even managed to get to work 5 minutes early opposed to my typical 5 minutes late. Whoa, the new year can really do wonders on a person.
I must admit I am excited about this new year and not for any other reason except for my latest horoscope from Rob Brezsney. The horoscope tells me that I am about to experience a similar breakthrough that I experienced in 1995, but on a higher octave. Well, the shift that I experienced in 1995 was life changing in a enlightening sort of way. The change caused inspiration in all my art forms and a positive belief in my mind that made all desires possible. Who wouldn't want a higher octave of THAT?
I must also mention our second band practice last night with the cast of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which, if you haven't heard, The Ovulators will be performing during the month of Feburary with the Lord Leebrick Theatre Company. It was a busy practice with the full cast as well as the director, stage manager and costume designer all in my basement to take witness of our musical process. It was fun. For some reason, I'm really excited about the costume designer, even though my costume will be much less extravagant than anything that I put together myself for an Ovulators performance.

Hey all, here's something you local music fans will be interested in, this is a note from the MastanMusic Hour, "you" is in reference to The Ovulators:

I just wanted to let you know that we had Dan Jones (from Dan Jones and The Squids) in as special guest to record an upcoming special featuring him for the MastanMusic Hour 15 part2. He's such a great guy that he brought your CD along to give to us. A bunch of great Eugene music! Subsequently we decided to do a feature on Eugene bands so - you are being featured on The MastanMusic Hour pod-cast Episode 14 Part 1.

Episode 14 will be available starting Monday, January 1st, 2007 and featured (w/ band write-ups!) on our pod-cast front page until
January 14th at:

http://www.mastanmusic.com/podcast/

First day back to work after two weeks of Christmas break. Hard to get to sleep at a "decent hour". Hard to move from my spot when the alarm went off... no, actually, I moved pretty easily to turn the thing off, but then moving any further than that was difficult. Pretty sky, though, once I was up.
First day back is a prep day, and its really pretty nice, no kids, and us adults all get a chance to catch up on what each of us has been up to over the past two weeks. Tomarrow kids. Habitual patterns. The kids change over a two week break. Who knows how they will come back. We all hope that they will have forgotten certain annoying games. Or be on their best behavior because they are excited to be back on schedule. But more likely, they have forgotten how to spell their name, or forgotten that hitting is not acceptable at school.
I feel like I have one more day of relaxing in my own little land before returning to my own scheduled life. Even though I enjoy the life that I've scheduled: playing the Hedwig soundtrack, playing games with children, playing guitar in a secret setting, still, just spacing out has its merits.

Happy New Year!!
All is bright on this fresh overcast day which opens the new year.
Today is a Federal Holiday. Most of our Federal Holidays revolve around US History, with a couple Christian holidays thrown in, but January 1st is the one federal holiday that honors the Hangover. Ah, yes, the National Hangover. It is the one day of the year that it is socially acceptable for you to be useless. The Federal government honors that you partied all night bringing in the new year. Society encourages you to stay up late, drink and kiss a stranger.
As a friend said, it is Amateur Night in the party world. A night for those who aren't usually out past midnight to dust off their dancing shoes, and prance into the "after hours" world. For those of us who live inside the Party, as a profession, we must take it an extra step. We have to serve those amateurs up one fabulous atmosphere and make it well worth their while that they dusted off those party shoes.
Friends of mine from the partying profession did a stellar job creating that environment. The party was a formal, yet amateur upon amateur showed up in drab everyDay clothes. I recieved commetnt after comment about how dressed up I was. Well, yes, it is a formal, so, shouldn't the conversation focus on the underdressed?... "oh, my, your sweatshirt is so 'everyday'", "oh look at you, your not wearing ANY makeup!". But, being a professional, I took the compliments of the amateurs, and enjoyed my New Years' attire, swishing my long sheer skirt to the electro-clash rhythms and melody mixes that were reminiscent of the late 80's house music. The DJ's were on fire. THEY were really setting the stage for amateur and professional to both have a memorable night.
There was alot of people copping feels at this party. It must be something about the first hours of new year, or the copious amount of drinking going on, or the Xtra special vibe that ran through the place, or maybe the societal expectation to kiss strangers that made people feel especially at ease to brush my bodily curves as I walked by, or as I was gettin' down on the dance floor. For the most part, the touches were benign enough thwart a negative reaction, or I was just having too good a time being happy inside a yummy vibration to slap somebody across the face or sto and give a stranger the "this is MY body" rant.
Toward the end of the evening, as I commented to a friend about the hands-on environment, I realized; if copping feels is so acceptable, I should take advantage and cop a few feels myself. Then, suddenly, I was the amateur, and although the practicing grounds were perfect, I was just too tired to try something new, to add to my professional resume so to speak, and I headed home before dawn to go to sleep and rest up for Federal Holiday #1, 2007.