I am a Nielson Family!!

I have always loved surveys. I figure its my chance to have my little voice heard and perhaps, just maybe, make a difference. I don't quite feel the same way about being a Nielson Family. I don't really think much of TV is worth fighting for. But hey - I do watch it, and now what I watch will somehow matter.

The Nielson people are kinda ghetto. They inform you by postcard that you will receive a phone call asking if you want to join. Once they call they ask how many TVs are in the house and send one booklet for each TV. They tell you that you will get $10 for religiously documenting what you watch on TV for one week and that your booklets will arrive in a red, white, and blue envelope -otherwise known as a USPS Priority Mail envelope - why don't they just tell you that? What is w/ the "red, white and blue envelope shit? I don't know.

When someone tells me they are giving me $10 for filling out a survey, I assume that the money will be in check form. NOT. Is it me, or is it strange that they sent cash - 1 $5 and 5 $1 bills. It all seems so unorganized (sp?) to me.

Well next Thursday will be the day of reckoning. I will find out exactly how much of the idiot box I watch on any given week. Something tells me the results will horrify me as I do think I watch too much TV. But it is losing its grasp on me. I am almost thankful when a favorite show is cancelled - less TV to see!! I also try really hard not to watch any new shows, but it is so damn easy to get sucked in.

Here's to hoping that I am not a TOTAL idiot box junkie.

Yeah - I gots me some pics too! I want all my babies to be on the web. Hopefully I will find time to really figure out how the picture thing works and how I can make it work better.

One more thing - I decided to apply for the Google adds. Not because I actually thought I could make more than 20 cents a month or anything like that. I just wanted to see what kind of adds they would put. I love to track advertising. I once had it as an assignment in high school, and still write down commercials now and then. Well Google denied me. It appears that they think my site is under construction. I know it isn't the most aesthetically pleasing thing out there, but come on, it don't look like a damn construction site either.

Cut me some damn slack.


"Voting for Kerry just might, fuck that - it will change the world."

stairs

cool stairs..

Cool crab found at office - released into lake

More funny hair and unrotated picture

cool stairs

This is the one, the only, Misha-Pooh - the best dog to ever walk the face of this earth, well, at least the most loved.


http://misha-pooh.blogspot.com/2004/09/this-is-one-only-misha-pooh-best-dog.html

One of our office pets. Dont quite know what it is, but it's about a foot long.

Jackson w/ his devil eyes showing.

A younger Misha in the snow. I really wanted to bring her back to the cold weather a few times but shit happens.

The Mish howling in front of my old home in RVA

Ths is Jackson. He is my kinda new doggie. I adopted him from the South Florida Husky Rescue Society. They are in desperate need for fosters at this moment. Please help if you can.

in the fountain at Libby Hill in RVA

showing her sled dog skills

Hurricane Statement

I just got an e-mail that Miami-Dade county has been issued a hurricane statement. Thats it. Just a hurricane statement. WTF is a hurricane statement? Is it informing us that one is out there? Yeah - we kinda know that by now. Thats all is said -

Miami-Dade County:
Hurricane Statement

Oh yeah - and it could change direction at any moment and spare or fuck us all.

"Voting for Kerry just might change the world."

At the outskirts of a hurricane on the 27th floor of a condo on Miami Beach about 8 hrs before Francis hit the coast many, many miles north of us.

Da Bias

For some reason today I really wanted to wear a sweater. So I did. Ooooh big deal you say. Well its 85 out and for us morons that is actually cool weather. Down here in Miami we are so pathetic that the first time it drops below 90 after the summer hell people start saying “oh – its cool now – the weather has changed – no more heat and humidity” Yeah – until tomorrow rolls around that is. My office is freezing so a sweater here is no problem but I have to venture out into the warehouse several times a day and whatever temperature it happens to be outside, the warehouse is practically guaranteed to be 10 degrees hotter. So I don’t know, despite the having to walk to and from the car in the blazing heat, and having to enter the sweltering box room I still wanted to wear a sweater. The urge was in me. It was like I could feel the weather becoming cooler around other parts of the country (despite the dire predictions of global warming I have been reading in this month’s National Geographic), and wanted to dress like those people. This happened last year. I wore a corduroy baby blue trench coat forever in hopes that if I dress for cold weather it will come. Yeah, it eventually did, but really pathetically. Today I happened to look at the good old calendar and noticed that first day of fall was yesterday!!! This (at least in my mind) completely explains the urge to dress warm, telling the thermometer to fuck off in a way. You see I couldn’t dress warm yesterday b/c I was home w/ a migraine in a quiet dark room all day wishing my head would just fall off and stop hurting me so much.

It’s weird though. I KNOW it is fall, but I keep THINKING that it is spring. This has happened every fall since I moved back to Miami. The weather starts to change and I am always like “oh thank god – spring is coming” when I know damn well that the season is called fall. I didn’t really know that till I moved north though.

I was one of those 99% kids in school. Great at test taking, but perpetually underachieving. So I was always in honors and AP classed getting straight C’s. I remember one SAT type test (probably in the elementary years) that had a question asking us to put the seasons in order. I had no fucking clue -first time ever a test question stumped me. All I could think was spring forward, fall back. Nothing to do with the placement of the seasons.

Point – the SAT is biased against people who live in the Tropics.


"Voting for Kerry might change the world."

Vote Dammit!!!

This past Saturday I spend about 2 hours going to the homes of registered Democrats who did not vote in 2000. I was volunteering for www.moveon.org. It was a great experience. I was scared that I would be too quiet or shy or just a big pushover but I really feel that I made a small difference.

The first people I found were some completely tattooed (a big plus in my book) people. I had a list w/ names, ages and addresses so I went up to them – Are you so and so? He said no “Are you sure” b/c I thought people would try to avoid me. Then he showed me his drivers’ license! The guy I was after did live there but I figure hey, why not work on these two first. There was a he and a she. He said he wasn’t planning on voting. Then she was like WTF? You're not voting? So I told her to keep working on him. I am confident she will make him vote for Kerry. Eventually the person I was after came out. So I have 3 people in a pick-up w/ 3 dirt bikes in the back about to go well, dirt biking. And I keep talking.
What is a very important issue for you?
Gun control – like we mean everyone should have a gun.
Ok – like just a gun, or are you including assault weapons here?
Assault weapons too. Everyone should have them.
Oh well, to each his own.
He seemed like a Bush person, but he was cute, and I know where he lives so he might get another visit!
About guns – I don’t like them. One of my best friends was almost killed by one after he went after muggers w/ his own gun. I figure if he didn’t have a gun, then he wouldn’t have gotten in a car and driven after a stolen purse w/ his gun making him feel all powerful. The muggers were shooting into a house when he caught them and the just shot him before he could do anything. He does think that the reason they only shot him once was b/c he had a weapon of his own. Whatever. If he didn’t have a weapon of his own, then he wouldn’t have had the courage to go after them. I might be wrong b/c he is a cocky motherfucker and a kung-fu instructor. Also, I do believe that “if you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns”. They are too pervasive in America to start taking them away now. The good people would return them, and the bad ones wouldn’t so as a practicality they have to remain legal.
Baack to where I was.
I am talking to them – they are backing out – still talking- on the street now and I have my head in the truck still talking. Then they mentioned the tattoos.
Look at us. We aren’t the regular voting kind.
It doesn’t matter what the fuck you look like. I love your tats – used to live w/ a great tattoo artist and had another roommate that was a piercer. JUST GO FUCKING VOTE!! AND NOT FOR BUSH!!
I left an absentte ballot form at their door along w/ a paper that briefly outlined Bush’s and Kerry’s stances on things. And my address. I figure it’s only fair that you know where I live if I know where you live. We only lived a couple of blocks away from each other.

I found another person who wasn’t going to vote. He was a black male, 24 yrs old. As I stand at only 5’1” I am not intimidating in person so this gives me a little more leeway than say, a 6ft muscular man in chiding people. I expressed my disbelief that he didn’t care about politics.
Don’t you know that the future president can impact your life in tremendous ways? You live in a country that gives you the right to vote. You are black so you (well really, your ancestors) had to fight much harder for that right than many others in this country, and you are just going to squander away that right? How could you?
Oh yeah – I had just woken him up also….

I think it’s pretty ballsy to knock on someone’s front door, wake them up, and then lecture them on politics when they have made it pretty clear that they didn’t give a shit. But he was very nice and really seemed to be listening to me so I kept talking. I don’t care who you vote for, as long as it’s not Bush, just go vote. I left two registration forms for absentee ballots so that he and his sister could vote from the comfort of their own home. He sat there listening to me in his driveway for maybe 10 minutes, in his PJ’s to boot. Here I am thinking, hey – I’m pretty good at this, maybe I should go into law school. It looks like I can make a convincing argument - maybe even enough to change his mind?

And then he has to go and ask me out. I hate that. Was he listening to me b/c of my brain or my face, or my ass? Who knows? Maybe he liked my attitude, my slight aggressiveness w/o malice. Maybe he liked my ass, slightly (maybe more than that) too large for a white girl. I look 100% American but really am 100% Cuban. It’s like I walk around in disguise. No one ever thinks I can speak Spanish. I really dig it actually. I just sit there while they chatter away in Spanish, let them put their feet in their mouth a few times, and then interject at a good point in conversation. Oh yeah – I also look young. I was dressed much nicer than usual (wearing a belt is the trick) but he was still floored to learn that I was 30. I do love that look of surprise.

Anyway, I just really hope he votes for Kerry. And enough others do too so that we can kick Bush out!

The only other person that sticks out is a Miami born Cuban who has convinced his whole family to vote for Kerry. That is really hard to do. The closest I can get to get my parents to vote for Kerry is to steal their absentee ballots and fill them out myself. Don’t think I haven’t told them that I am seriously thinking about it. If only they didn’t live 20 miles away….

"Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."

The Energy of Change is in the Air

On Wednesday I went to the Hillel Center at the University of Miami for a Rosh Hashanah service. Being agnostic yet baptized, this was my first Rosh Hashanah service. Though I am not a fan of organized religion in any form I went because my fiancé said it would be really good for him and his father to have a woman around as this would be the first service they attended since his mom died. Who can say no to that? So I sat in a room, surrounded by Jews. The horrible “I love my daddy’s money” bumper sticker wearing UM jappy kind. Hopefully they will grow up and become slightly less materialistic but I have never seen so many Burberry Shoes and Louis Vitton purses so closely gathered together at any other point in my life. Things have changed since the early 90’s but when I was at UM I made it a point to avoid the sororities and I bet everyone in that room was in one or something like one. I say things have changed b/c when I went to UM, appropriate attire consisted of boxer shorts, Birks, a t-shirt, and a flannel (for using as a pillow or blanket while napping between classes b/c you know, the dorm room is just too far away).
Ok – I have become more than a little racist here. Sorry about that. I have NOTHING against Jewish people. I am marrying a Jewish person – although he really downplayed that in the early dating stages. I figure I can suck it up and go to religious services twice a year. I just feel like such a hypocrite sitting there. Asking god for forgiveness and to overlook my sins. I really don’t think we have a kind of god that listens to these kinds of things. And if you’re Jewish it doesn’t really matter b/c there is no Hell. That alone makes this religion a thousand times better than Christianity. But I was baptized so I aint going to Hell. Hah!
As ususal, I digress. The rabbi and the service were really good. There was some Hebrew singing and reading, but a lot of reading in English also. That wasn’t the good part. This rabbi explained things to us. We were there for the New Year, but it was more than just the New Year. That day was supposedly the same day, based on the Jewish calendar, that Adam and Eve were created. Because of this, the air on this day is rich with energy and the forces of creation. This is the day to sort of re-invent your self. You can do it any day, but today the energy of the world is with you. But it is not the day for typical New Year’s resolutions. You aren’t supposed to pledge to lose 20 lbs or something like that. It’s supposed to be more spiritual. Sadly, my memory fails me beyond this. Sorry.
We also got a little lesson on the punishments that were doled out in the Garden of Eden after that tasty apple was bitten into. Adam and Eve lost their eternal life. They became mere mortals who consequently felt pain, needed food, and well, could die. That evil tempting snake was also punished. He used to be the most glorious animal in the Garden, walking around on four legs like the king of the jungle. God punished him by taking away his legs, making him the lowest animal as he could only slither around on his belly. He also gave him a far worse punishment. God decreed that the snake could eat dirt. It doesn’t sound so bad at first. If you can eat what you are constantly surrounded by, then it would seem like you are basically set. If all your needs appear to be met, it would seem wonderful. You don’t have to ask anybody for anything. Ever. But because of this total self sufficientness (says not a word, but I think it should be) the snake was really punished because he no longer needed a connection to god. The snake, and all other snakes, never got to talk to god again and god never talked to the snakes again either. Poor snake lost his most important relationship because all his needs were met.
And then there is this Jesus fellow. In the period he was born, everyone was the child of God. One day though, Jesus woke up and decided that everyone was wrong and only, he, Jesus, was the son of God. Guess he had a harder time than most picturing his mother having sex. Or maybe his mother lied to him all his life. I am not too knowledgeable here, but I figure she was a single mom right? Why else would there be all this virgin conception talk? If she was married, then the husband would be the baby daddy. Ahh… no husband. Back then it must have been very terrible to be not married and pregnant. Maybe that’s why no one would let her inside. She must have had a great big red S all over her. Well baby Jesus grows up and asks, who’s my daddy? And Mary says, as everyone else always said about everybody, God is your father. I think he might have taken this a bit too literally. Ah, God is my dad, not yours! I can see your dad – he is right over there. My mommy isn’t married so the only daddy I could possibly have is God and yeah- there’s your dad right over there, next to your mom. He don’t look like God to me. So screw you all. I can see your fathers, but you can't see mine, so he must be God. Though I think he might have been a little loony, he did have a pretty good message spreading around. Don’t know much of it, but do know – “Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you” and I love that one. All the others are good, but this is the one that I really try to live up to.


"Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."

The Snake at Work

Amazingly enough, when talking about a snake at work, I am not talking about a co-worker, but an actual snake. It lives behind the warehouse and I have seen its left over skins. I have seen it slither away into the water and under trees. Today it was just sitting amongst the pine needles, only slightly curled so I could see that it was pretty long. It has a matte grey finish and flicked its little tongue at me. It is an Everglades Racer. Pretty cool, huh? Well, I think so.

I've seen him around, but now I know for certain that he isn't venomous. I never thought so because he doesn't look it, but it sure is nice to KNOW. I now also know that they will attack, which I did not think it would do. Minutes ago, I was a foot from its face, making eye contact. Won't do that in sandals anymore. Must have ankles covered.

I need my boots to come back from Medellin! My dad took them there over a month ago to be re-soled b/c they are like magicians w/ shoes over there. He is back in Medellin, so I should be reacquainted w/ my "new" boots in 9 days. Yay! I feel lost w/o some good comfy boots, and am too lazy to deal w/ the breaking in period for the new ones I have bought, so just resorted to getting the old ones fixed. Once I have them back I can go explore the jungle of the back of the warehouse and see what other cool things we have back there.





"Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."

Da 'Beasties

Yeah - they ROCK!

Lyrics from "It Takes Time to Build", song 4 on "To The 5 Boroughs"

if you don't like the news then press eject.
Baby Davis getting older; cant take a rain check.
Its time to let 'em know what to expect.
Stop building SUVs strung out on OPEC.
Hold up, wait up, you know we come correct.
You wanna change things up, well hey just get set.
It's easier to sit back than stick out your neck.
It's easier to break things tan build it correct.
We've got a president we didn't elect (but he does look good in a flight suit).
The Kyoto treaty he decided to neglect,
and still the US still wants to flex.
Keep doin' that wop we gonna break our necks.
IT TAKES A SECOND TO WRECK
IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD
YOU GOTS TO CHILLLLL
Hate-filled people keeping us in check.
Tearin' down each other is what they expect.
If you want love, well, hey that's a bet.
We've got to give before we can get.
waiting like a batter who is on deck,
when it's time to wreck shop, then shop I'll wreck.
So let's calibrate and check our specs.
We need a little shift on over towards the left.
I don't really know,
but I suspect.
I think its due time that we inspect how they get their information and their facts checked.
Another press conference someone's talking out their neck.
IT TAKES A SECOND TO WRECK
IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD
YOU GOTS TO CHILLLLL
So step up to the window and place your bets.
Is the U.S. gonna keep breaking necks?
Maybe is time we impeach Tex [ed. note -(not Mish):don't get him wrong, Yauch loves Texas, but this fool has got to go.]
and the military muscle that he wants to flex.
By the time Bush is done, what will be left?
Selling votes like E-pills at the discotheque.
Environmental destruction and the national debt.
But plenty of dollars left in the fat war chest.
What the real deal, why you can't connect?
Why you hating people that you never met?
Didn't your mama teach you to show some respect?
Why not open your mind for a sec?
IT TAKES A SECOND TO WRECK
IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD
YOU GOTS TO CHILLLLL



I didn't even think I could love them anymore, and then they got all political on my ass!!!

OMG- this took me soo damn long. I can type like the best when its from my mind, but I just found out I cant copy for shit.

"Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."

What would your Smurf name be?

You can find out here.
Or if that don't work - here.

I got the following based on variations of my name and nicknames:
Phil the Smurf
Very Uninteresting Smurf
Stanky Smurf
Queasy Smurf

With married name:
Golden Flash Smurf
Deadly Smurf
Kung Pao Smurf
Very Uninteresting Smurf

Blogger name:
Trusty Smurf
Moo Goo Gai Smurf

Fiance name:
Chicken-Fried Smurf (oh how very, very accurate)
Slowly Evaporating Smurf (strangely, not too off the mark here either)

Misha-Pooh is Trusty Smurf. I like that. My married Smurf names are much better than my original Smurf names. Hmmm.... Should I change my last name based on a Smurf name generator? Not such a good idea me thinks.

I don't like how I am Very Uninteresting Smurf TWO TIMES!!

Not At All.

"Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."

Monday the 13th

Garfield's least favorite day. Today he is gorging on lasagna. Mmmm. Wish I was.

"Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."

Work - Uggghh

I don't like work. I feel like each day is a challenge to do as little as possible. Unfortunately I am very successful at this endeavor and now have a huge pile I have to get to. Which brings me back to the original thought - I don't like MY work. I have nothing against work in general. I just don't like boring shit.

When it's urgent - I fucking rock. I can run all around the warehouse, set up shipments in minutes, get my own skids and load them w/ 40 lb boxes. I love that part. The part that gets your blood pumping and makes you sweat. I could do w/o the broken nails but that's just a small thing. That must be leftovers from my sculpture days. The first time I made something I was amazed. This huge thing came from my 2 little hands, endless dumpster diving, and my imagination. It was a great feeling. Cant wait to leave this office and start some art classes over at FIU.

I hate sitting in front of a computer all day, waiting to be released. Making systems better, knowing that they wont be used in 2 months seems to useless. No, it doesn't seem useless - it is useless. I am fed up invoices and prices and credits and debits and fixing others mistakes. I slack all week and then come in on Saturday to make up for it. WTF? I read endless blogs, play computer games, take 2 hour lunches, come in at 11 and still no replacement for me. I do stay till around 8 or 7:30 if there is something good on TV. It's guilt. I feel bad for doing nothing all day, so my real work day begins at 5 when everyone else has left the building. There is no point coming in at 9 b/c I still leave around 8 anyway.

Bleah.

But I just got "To the 5 Boroughs" today along w/ Frida Khalo's Diary today so that rocks.

And I got tix for the BEASTIE BOYS!!! Yeah - still psyched about them.

And I just noticed that the warehouse had like 20 boxes of boxes of shoes. We get them wholesale and duty-free here, but I didn't like any. Boo.

"Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."

Hurricane

As far as hurricanes go, this one was great. I sat at an ocean front bar, watched Caddy Shack, and got drunker than I have in a very long time. I also went to the beach apt on the 26th floor and got some great pics of my very long hair completely vertical b/c of the wind. I must say, very sorry to everyone who did not have a good experience. I went through Andrew so this one was nothing short of awesome in comparison. Hurricanes are great if you are nowhere near the eye wall and they aren't too wet. I guess I got lucky though, b/c most everyone else in my 'hood lost power. Miami is too hot and sticky to be w/o power.

Anyway, speaking of hurricanes, I JUST BOUGHT BEASTIE BOY'S TICKETS!!!!!

Man, that made my month.

Funny bad thing: On Monday we went to Haulover Beach and I got a really bad sunburn on my boobs. One of these days I will remember the sunblock, but at least my face cleared up. I dont know why, but for the past couple of months, I have looked like I belong in Junior High. Now I am a very tan Ivory chick, with very red boobs. I hate the word "boobs", but I also hate the word "tits" and I think "breasts" is too formal...

"Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."

Francis veers ever so slightly to the north!

First off, I am very, very sorry for everyone who is north. I wish all of you the best of luck. I wouldn't wish what might happen to you on my worst enemy.

Bad thing - now that Francis looks like it will miss Miami, I am at work doing some last minute paperwork b/c now planes will be taking off.

Great thing - The Republican National Convention gets no coverage on local channels in Florida, a VERY important swing state (ha-ha) b/c its 24/7 hurricane coverage.

For some reason, this makes me happier than it should all things considered. Must be that Xanex. Everything makes me happy! Guess I really am happier b/c it looks like the trees I love will make through the weekend. I still really cant comprehend 24 hours of hurricane force winds or even tropical storm force winds. Guess I will be able to in a few days though.

I might even be able to stay at home during the hurricane. YAY!!!

I ran into a few friends buying beer for the hurricane parties - looks like I can attend one now. I was only 18 when Andrew hit, but that would have been really bad to deal w/ on acid which is what I would have been on when I was 18.

Though not a "good" girl, I am a better one now.


"Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."

Bye-Bye Trees

Wow. What a great week my brain picked to just go haywire on me. I am almost out of meds, am sure that the postal service wont deliver them in time, and a GIANT fucking slowmoving hurricane is bearing down on the east coast of Florida. At least I am not in a storm surge area. I took a walk around today and started saying bye to my favorite trees. There is a huge one in the middle of my driveway that will probably crush my insured home. I like that tree a lot, not to mention the home. I feel like a doomsayer but I really am scared. I was here for Andrew, not even close to the worst of it, and it was damn scary. I remember I was holding my first cat - Georgie - on my lap and on top of a pillow. With all the wind howling, people crying and glass breaking he peed on top of the pillow. I just realized there is a damn good chance that my husky Jackson will howl with the wind - all I have to do is look at him w/ my mouth in a howling shape and he howls back :-). That would be funny, howling hurricane w/ husky howling in harmony and cats absolutely fricking terrified - that's the not so funny part.
Oh yeah - this storm (name?) is even stronger than Andrew. It looks like a much wetter storm also. I feel the panic and helplessness rising inside my chest, but I know, now more than ever, that I have to overcome it. I cant break down and worry my parents anymore. They have enough to worry about. They just bought (well like over a year ago) a beautiful house aprox 1 block from the ocean THAT IS ALL WINDOWS. After a year of renovation, the furniture is coming TODAY. Great timing. We are better off than most. We have a warehouse to store all our cars and others needy pets if anyone out there doesn't have any other options - please e-mail me and I see what I can do.
I moved some patio furniture inside after I felt the beginnings of an attack approach. That helped - shut the brain down and do something productive. Soo many more flying projectile objects that need to be indoors. God I hope this thing just turns around into the ocean from where it came. Don't think its going to happen though. As much as I don't want to get hit, I don't want any other part of the state to go through this hell. 400 miles wide, moving at 14-17 mph. How long will it take to pass? While it killed a holiday weekend, it also made it longer b/c we have Friday off to board up all the families houses and I also offered our services to some elderly neighbors. No one that I have spoken to in Grove is evacutating though we are east of US-1. My parents are making me. I would rather be here but I have learned that my mom don't care what I think.
Its only stuff, and I am a horrible pack rat, so it would be a blessing in disguise if all my stuff flew away (especially the couch that stinks like dog). Everyone out there, wish us luck in Florida and please send H2O and batteries to whatever part of the state get hit first.
For better (much) info about this storm visit Bark-Bark Woof-Woof. He is much more up to date on all of this than I am.

Good luck to all of us.



"Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal."