Whales Feel Like Wet Tires

Me petting a wild baby whale
Originally uploaded by almondprincess.

The caption says it all. I miss the baby whale. When we were petting its mother, the baby whale actually stuck its head out of the water and took a little nip on the edge of the boat - right where I was sitting. As if to say: "Leave my mother out of this! Pay attention to me!" or "Don't touch my mother! Only I get to play with her!" Anyhow, it is absolutely impossible to stay in a bad mood when there are pictures of me petting whales around. It makes one feel all warm and gushy inside.

Does anyone enjoy a hot bath with epsom salts. I do. It's so great. I've also been know to dump powdered ginger and other strange oils and powders into a bath. It's killer on drains, but that's why I rent! Anyhow, the new apartment is not great on producing hot water. So, the only time I can fill a bath with hot water seems to be exactly 7:00pm. I won't be home until about 7:30 or 8pm tonight, so I won't get to soak. Most tragic. Sometimes I will boil pots of water on the stove to dump into the bath tub, but it works about as well as it sounds. My dream bathroom would have a bidet and a very deep tub with copious amounts of hot water. Did anyone read the article on urinals in the NY Times recently? I definitely don't want an artisanal urinal in any bathroom I own. Where is the companion article on bidets, mister liberal ny times?

I'm planning to have my 30th birthday in Tulum, Mexico. Will you be coming to celebrate? My mother and Marianne Jackson will be there for sure and they are always rowdy at parties. The thing is, no one told me that Mexico is kind of a shitty country. Well, it will be cheap and there will be Mayan ruins and sunny beaches.

Feng Shui Fuck Up

Balloon Art
Originally uploaded by almondprincess.

As some of you may know, I recently took a wonderful Feng Shui class with R.D. Chin at the Open Center. It's 5 elements Feng Shui and one of the main premises of that school is the power of intention. If you arrange your home in a Feng Shui manner and believe that having two bedstands, two chairs, two lamps and two of everything in your bedroom will attract a relationship, than the power of your belief/intention infuses your life and brings about the happy result.

So.... I've been working on Feng Shui-ing my apartment as much as I can. Rose Quartz in my relationship corner. Movie star post cards in my career corner. 2 of everything in the bedroom. I had done some careful decoration in my bedroom's relationship corner, when I thought I successfully attracted myself a new suitor. However, I put up a "Sex-starved Hell Cat" retro pulp fiction postcard, which might have been not so wise. (Sex-starved implies single or unsatisfied.) Then I put up some pictures of 1970's male models in their underwear on the beach. I had mixed feelings about whether these would attract a positive relationship or attract strange tan sleazy men. Then.... came my big Feng Shui Fuck Up.

Saturday night, I was looking forward to a second date the upcoming Tuesday. I mean, really looking forward to it. I met my friend at a bar and his lovely girlfriend joined us at last call. She was fresh from a Bachelorette party, where she had picked up some inspiring balloon art. She gave me one! I was extremely grateful and decided I would put it in my relationship corner. I thought it might amuse/intimidate my potential new suitor. Well.....let's just say, there is definitely not a new suitor anymore. Merely, a brief/pleasant moment in time.

Anyhow, I realized that perhaps the giant black phallic symbol was to blame. In fact, it had performed some metaphysical intimidation on an alternative plane of existence and scared off "a really great guy." Or did it? Anyhow, it's so nice to think this was not a Romantic Fuck Up, but in fact a tragic Feng Shui Fuck Up.

I have since popped the offending yet lovely balloon art, destroying it's evil powers. I will be careful with my Feng Shui corners (especially my relationship corner) in the future.

AM New York

I am taking an acting class on Tuesday mornings now, so I need to do various things to make up the time at work. I came in early today to be the Receptionist for an Asian diversity brainstorming meeting. Apparently there were tech issues, so everyone had to wait in the Lobby until 8.29am. Not the greatest situation. Nobody likes to wait. Especially not suits and really trashy semi-homeless people. Everyone played nice though. Maybe I am just mis-reading their serious manners.

The absolutely great thing about coming to work this early, is that there are no AM New York hawkers. I hate getting the free newspapers shoved in my face. There is a new lady/man that bellows "AM New York" in a very sing song-y wretched way. It makes me cringe. I think that happens at prime commute time from 8:45am to about 10am at my exiting subway stop for work. Do you also dread the Metro/AM/PM New York newspaper handler? It's irritating and really not even great examples of the written English language. The questions are: Which free daily paper is the least horrible? Why do liberals read the New York Post? Of the weeklies, NY Press is the most punk rock, but very remedial. The Village Voice is decent, but not as useful as Time Out, which unfortunately is not free.

I am getting a pink warning banner that says I am not connected to blogger and my post may not save. I hope that is a lie! Is it possible to alleviate stress in a social manner or to celebrate without alcohol? Well, there is always kava kava. I had 3 beers last night and I feel wretched today. I also woke up with an accelerated heart rate and it is still more rapid than usual. Not a great feeling. No more alcohol. No more caffeine. How can I be true to my hedonistic values?

Dissed via India/Bushian Time Change, etc.

I have this awesome holistic health counselor. She is helping me re-shape my life into something healthier and even more wonderful than it was before. She is studying in India and gives me two consultations by phone each month and unlimited email access. We had an appointment for tonight at 9pm. 50 minutes of phone conversation and if I am not in a quiet peaceful place (my apartment), she will notice and scold me a little. After one reschedule we were set for tonight. I forgot about it and said that I would attend the Gateway school benefit auction and dinner with Grandma Tina and my aunt and uncle. Good food and wine and I was outbid at every turn for the silent auction. I left early and took a cab home, so I could be in a quiet place by 9pm sharp. I call the cell phone. No answer. Is the time change to blame? I had emailed to let her know about the time change and offer to adjust. No response. I'm kind of annoyed actually. I called again at 10pm (the old 9pm). No answer and no healthful counseling. Dissed. Snap!

Whatever. I'm still pissed about the TV death in my life. I am in mourning. On a lighter note, I'd like to bring up an example of the magic of blogging. About 30 seconds after my last blog posting, I received an incoming phone call on my cellular phone from the person that I referenced as not calling me in the blog posting. Magical.

Do you think there will be a time when harsh anti-bacterial hand soap will become a relic of the past? I hope it is soon. We have this green sludge that oozes out at work. This lady at work asks girls to donate to a Bath and Bodyworks classier anti-bacterial soap fund. It's not as nasty, but it is still anti-bacterial, which is drying and ignorant. I usually don't use either of these soaps, so I don't donate to the fund. I have my own gentle liquid handsoap for work. It's Jason's organic lavender and it is also supposed to wash away contamination from alien life forms and evil crazy maniacs too. What more could you want in a hand soap? I would like to see some Dr. Bronner's hand soap everywhere. It could be as cheap as whatever soap conglomerate controls our public soap lives. The open center claims to be a conscious organization, yet they offer the harsh pearly white anti-bacterial hand soap. I've been busier lately and I may take an acting class. I may be forced to use the anti-bacterial hand soap in public restrooms more because of my "on the go" lifestyle. I do sometimes bring a tiny pot of Burt's Bees orange facial scrub around with me. It makes a great gentle hand soap for the dive bar bathroom that has no soap. I worry about my cuticle health. Do you?

Vacation Recovery

MexicoCactus1
Originally uploaded by almondprincess.

Today is another day and I'm recovering from Mexico. Look how big that cactus is. You can't really tell from this photo but they were over 70 feet high. A forest of cacti. The bases of the cacti were just like trunks of old trees. Truly wonderful. I also got to pet whales in the San Ignacio Lagoon. This is a pre-whale photo and you might be able to tell that I had spent the night before in a cheap and skanky San Quintin hotel. There was mold on the wall by my bed and the sheets were thin thin thin. Gabe looked at his bare mattress and saw blood stains. Yum.

A sad thing happened tonight: I had to dump out a barleywine style ale, because I didn't like it. There should be someone in my apartment that would like it and would drink it for me.

I've noticed that a craving for an iced coffee, cafe au lait, cafe mocha, latte or iced decaf coffee can be stronger than a craving for that someone to call you on the phone. Surprisingly strong actually. Strong. Boy, did I want a coffee drink after lunch today. I wanted that beverage much more than I wanted that phone call. I had neither. I am trying to cut back on caffeine and sugar. The sugar part is insurmountable, so I think I will finish off all the delicious treats in my home, before even considering cutting back on sugar. It's supposed to alleviate all of my problems, PMS, mood swings, dry skin, etc., etc.

I am watching the Big Sleep. It's not very riveting, so I think I will go to sleep soon. Last night I watched I Heart Huckabees. That is a brilliant film. It was so weird and sometimes boring, but I couldn't stop watching it. Riveting. I was a little disappointed in the new Robin Hood series on BBCA. I'll watch it even though it's schmaltzy. And finishing my TV update: I cried twice during the newest Battlestar Galactica episode Sunday night. Fuck, I'm starting to well up just thinking about it.