Double Click Dailies

2003-04-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

It's About Time!!!

MY NEW WEBSITE HAS ARRIVED!

Just click on the link below.

Double Click Dailies-Peach on the Beach

2003-04-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

GEORGE W WANTS YOU!!!!!!

We received a fancy cream colored large square envelope yesterday in the mail. It was addressed to MR. Luigi Mascarpone. (thats mahs-car-ponay to you).In the left hand , return address corner It simply saidThe President's Dinner. On the back it read:The President's Dinner *Washington D.C. 20077 * National Republican Senatorial Commitee* National Republican Congressional Committee This is where the fun starts. Luigi opened the letter and began to read.

Dear Friend,
It is with pride that Barbara and I invite you to support our Republican Party by attending the President's Dinner in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, May 21, 2003.
Because you are a valued friend and supporter of the President and our entire family, I have enclosed your personal invitaion to this very special event.
......For almost three decades, Party loyalists like you have come together from all across the nation to pay tribute to our Republican President and First Lady at the President's Dinner..........

Luigi's coffee brown eyes got even bigger as he read the letter in amazement. I Couldn't help it. I was starting to laugh so hard that I was interrupting Luigi's ongoing reading of the letter. "Is there something you want to tell me, Luigi? Now that we're married I think you should tell me everything. Are you really a Republican in Liberal Sheep's clothing??!!" But i just kept laughing as he continued to read all the info that was inside the envelope. There was a little insert entitled "Georg W. Bush Limited Edition Photo". It read: In honor of your support and dedication to President Bush, The President's Dinner has commissioned a limited-edition, presidential photo which will be accompanied by a note from President Bush. Collector's quality...........is yours ......with your gift of $150 or more.

The Purple and sliver invitation was impressive and went on to give the address: Washington Covention Center with Cocktail Reception at 6:00 p.m. and a $2500 a plate dinner to follow. I was trying to figure out from Luigi, what kind of a list he could possibly be on. I told Luigi that they were obviously confusing him with another Luigi with the exact same name. I must explain something to you here. Luigi is more to the left of center than I am.

It actually was a lot of fun getting that in the mail. I think, though, I am a little disappointed that I really can't go to that dinner. I don't have the $2500 to get me in. But It would have been so nice to crash the party and just sit there like I was a good little Republican Babe, so I could hear what they had to say about the Democrats.

Hey, RWT----I sure hope you got one of these.......If you didn't you can complain to the Republican National Committee and ask them why they wasted a perfectly beautiful invitation on a bleeding heart liberal!!.. ........Heck don't make waves....I'll send you Luigi's .

2003-04-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

Cat on the Mousepad

Well that whole post was just destroyed! Sammie my cat was just sitting on the mousepad. It's kind of hard to move your mouse around a big pile of fur. He just pawed my fleece jacket. He looks around the room, or down at my fingers skating over the keyboard. Then he stares at me with his pale blue eyes inside his charcoal grey face and wonders why I don't want to play with him right now. He looks sort of lonely and forlorn. Whoops. Where did all those 99999999999999's come from? Animals have a way of getting to the soft core of your soul. I feel guilty now that I had to move him off the mousepad after my post disappeared.

I have two cats. The other one is Xena (Zeenie) who is catnapping in the other room. Sammie has left the computer room and probably gone off to join Zeenie. I guess he isn't too happy with my choice of the computer over him. I really do believe that many cats have nine lives. I have been through enough with both of them to know that firsthand. I wrote an entry once about poor sick Zeenie in one of my March 2002 entries last year. I think I have spent as much on cat insurance as I do on my own health insurance. I once had a cat get sick and die on me. But not before I had paid in hundreds of dollars. The financial burden was bad enough. But I also had to deal with the loss and mourning. Anyway I thought Cat Insurance was the way to go the next time around.

The cats seem to be ok. But their mistress is ill today. My throat is gone; so its a good thing this is not an audio post. My friend thinks I have MARS. It's suppose to be a mild form of SARS. I really doubt it. It's just a cold. I'm taking my cold-ease and tooling around my email today back and forth with Jonielectric, hopefully, getting my new website closer to completion.

One note about the flaky no-shows for the Weblogger Meetup for Wednesday the 16th. Just got an e-mail that the Weblogger Meet-up has been cancelled. (just as well; probably couldn't go tomorrow anyway.). The interesting thing is that there are about 10 locations throughoutSoCal, and ALL of them were cancelled. I heard that New York and many other cities are much more reliable. This is about the third one in a row that's been cancelled. I wonder if that means anything about us L. A. Webloggers? I went to a couple of meetings last summer in Santa Monica. None of the participants there were flaky at all. I had a great time . I'm not sure why it hasn't picked up more out here? Maybe all the flaky webloggy people are moving to L.A.? I must furthur delineate the definition of 'faky webloggy' . It excludes of course all of the webloggers I know! Maybe everyone has a MARS cold like me? Dennis, I do not think I have MARS!!

2003-04-06T22:01:00.000-07:00

Out of the Past

Today is my Birthday. Many thoughts have been popping up in my brain all week-end. A lot of it is deja vu and unimportant, insignificant events of my youth. It is interesting in the sense of reflection and contemplation of who you really are as a person. It is enlightening for me, anyway, to realize that bits and pieces of our personality have always been there. If we could remember as far back when we were one or two years old, we could probably say......oh yeah that was so typical of me. But there is always your mother to remind you of what you were like as a kid. My Mom does that periodically. She also compares me with my brother and sister. I'm not sure exactly why it comes up in the conversation sometimes, but inevitably it does.

One of her favorite (most repeated) stories is what a horrible eater I was when I was a baby. She said I would close my mouth and my poor Mom had to try to pry it open with the baby spoon. She was very concerned that I was going to starve. She explained to me how 'good' my brother and sister were because they opened up their mouths wide, and made their mouths like tunnels as they were instructed, to let the choo choo train in. But of course with me it was an entirely different story. And then she would say that to make matters worse, my Dad would come by and say "cookie?" and give me one to chew on. My Mother stated that she was so ticked off at my Dad for doing that. And from the way she talks she hasn't forgiven him yet. She shouldn't have been so worried, because based on what she told me I did love those California oranges so much that she would gladly give me as much as I wanted. Because apparently I didn't eat much of anything else. But I ate so much of it that I would end up crying with really bad colic.

I must explain to you that it is one of the few things about me that is no longer true of my personality. Because I just love to eat!!! I once did one of those internet quizzes on someone's Blog. One of the questions was: "Which would you rather do? Have sex or eat? " I have to tell you that I really had to think very hard and must have spent a lot of time mulling over that one question! Hey did you really think I was going to tell you what I answered on my public Blog!

Jonielectric and I are still working on my website. It is coming together little by little. I hope that it will be up and running very soon. Maybe after it's all set up I'll be more likely to answer those kinds of questions.

Remember these important phrases until next time. ( you may have to ponder a little to get it):
Deplete me
Curve around the Circle
Bullwinkle was Here
Rock the Courier
Incursive acts of Peace

Sorry , but my brain sometimes will not stop............

2003-03-31T12:34:00.000-08:00

Knock Knock....... Anyone Home? II

I stole this title from one of my readers who was inquiring a while back about my inconsistant presence on my Blog. I salute him and all the miniscule audience who is loyal to this website and come to pay me visits. I thank you all for being such devoted and faithful readers and making my blogging such a rewarding experience.

I went into all the archive settings in my template and republished everything......and Viola! My Photo (whose code has been sitting in my template now for two weeks) that I have wanted to be in my website finally shows up. (Although the Archives have disappeared, I am fearful to republish them in case the photo does it's disappearing act again). If you are reading this right now and do not see the photo of Rockefeller Center, but still see "Toronto Feet", then I am absolutely convinced that I have a Psycho Blog. Do they have Institutions for Psycho Blogs? It probably needs to be put away, if that's the case. But the good news is that the making of the new Blog is well under way and I will tell you when you can expect the Premiere and where to point your browsers.

I always put links behind my photos. If Rockefeller Center is up on the website, you can click on the photo and get to their website. There is a link for webcam. I thought it was cool to see all those people running around and the cars moving and then sitting at the Stoplight. I know what you are saying. Yeah, how exciting, Peach. I do miss my trip to New York though. That is why a few times I have posted the photos I took while I was there.

I am going to leave a link here that is connected to a Blog I started around the same time as Double Click Dailies. But it was difficult keeping up one Blog, let alone another one. So there is really only one entry. I am going to publish the link because it is one of my favorites and when I read it, it always brings me back to that moment again. Here it is: Prince-Adult Fairy Tales

2003-03-26T10:14:00.000-08:00

Parallel Lives

There is a French Movie called La Double Vie de Veronique. (The Double Life of Veronique). Gwyneth Paltrow did the English version (Sliding Doors) of that movie a few years ago. It is the story of a woman who has two lives. Namely that she is living in a parallel universe. Ever heard of it? Yours truly is 'suffering ' from that at this moment....right inside my Website.

I have been having problems with posting a new photo. This morning I noticed the Archives were gone (again!). So I republished everything. Besides taking 20 years, a pop-up window displayed an archive error. It happened both times for each page. I then went to the settings to check out that it was monthly archiving. It was set up that way but I still get weekly archiving. (lovely Blogger). Anyway I clicked on 'save changes', went back to my Blog and, lo and behold the picture that was changed in the template was finally posted on my website and the Archives were back again. The last line on the Archive column was the line 'Current'. That's that, I thought. But then I signed out of Blogger and went back into the website and that stupid Toronto Feet was still there. What happened to the Rockefeller Center photo I had just posted and seen? And what happened to the 'current' line at the bottom of my Archive column? I tell you I am living in two different universes inside this cyber space. Anyone out there know what is going on?

Sadly my First Year Blog Anniversary came and went. (It was March the Fifth.) I was planning at least to make some hoopla about it. I have contacted a Web person ( who is on vacation this week) but will be helping me to change my Website. I have been very loyal to Blogger but I think I need something better, with many more options for design and process, and more hassle free. If you go to the Sheer Bloggery Links and click on Prince-Adult Fairy Tales, you will see my ambitions for 2 or 3 websites which didn't pan out. It's time consuming with just one website! By the way when I went to click on it, it wasn't there. I hope you have better luck.

I am wishing myself a Happy BlogAnniversary and much less Blog problems; A new brightened and enlightened website, and Peace for us all in the upcoming year. Peach has very high hopes............but I hope all of it will come to pass.

2003-03-25T01:32:00.000-08:00

Knock Knock...Anyone Home?

I have tried for an hour to change the photo on my Blog inside the template. But to no avail. It seems to be stuck. The new html code for the new photo is in the template, but it still carries the old photo. I am not having trouble with the Edit window where I post . So only the Template is off for some reason. I am really not sure if Blogger is having problems or not. I will try again tomorrow. If it doesn't work, I'll go ahead and post.........or maybe there will be 'Shock and Awe' on this Website.

2003-03-05T17:23:00.000-08:00

Out of State? Out of Touch

I went Downtown today to turn in some paperwork in the Wells Fargo Center. It was a beautiful day......that kind of smogless pure air and crystal clear landscapes; and a big, gorgeous blue sky with light fluffy white clouds floating over me. What a vision! Compared to the 4-6 months out of the year that we get cloudless, dirty orange skies and hazy, lackluster colors in the surrounding nature, it was an incredible day. It's almost like comparing Black and White photography to color.........there's that much of a difference. Many people, including the local media, always use the temperature as the only requirement for a beautiful day in L.A. If it's 80 degrees outside, then it qualifies as an outrageously awesome day. If it's warm enough to hit the beach, I suppose that's the ticket.

Many people come here from the East Coast and the Mid-West and California is really a Paradise to them after shoveling snow all Winter and hardly ever seeing the sun. Don't get me wrong. I am a California native and I do love California as it is a beautiful State. It is so very sad, though, that half the year, you are running around inhaling all that orange crap (I wonder what my lungs look like?) and not being able to see the real beauty of the sky above you or being able to see the city that is surrounded by mountains all around and the ocean to the West. On a clear day you can see the snow topped San Gabriel Mountains and the closer, local Santa Monica Mountains. There's also the Southern France(Cote d'Azur) look of the Hollywood Hills. On a clear day, getting off the 10 Freeway and heading North on La Cienga or La Brea you can see them very clearly and a bit furthur East you can even see the Hollywood Sign. (There is some political intrigue here as to why we have the traffic and the smog, but I won't get into it right now. ) Just remember what I told you the next time you land in L.A. About 100 miles out, maybe 20 mintues before landing you will begin to see that famous 'orange' blanket hanging over the City. Unless you arrive the day after a rainfall or Santa Ana Winds.

Getting into the KPMG Tower has changed since 9/11. They now request photo I.D.'s and have a security system in place. I took out my Driver's License and gave it to the Security Attendant. Next to me were two older gentleman. One of them jokingly told the female Attendant that now everyone would know his age. I smiled and told the guy who took my I.D. that it certainly wasn't fair to the women. "You really only need your Social Security number". He agreed as he handed me back the I.D. "I never look at the Birthdate, only the photo.....so I really don't check out people's age." I thought about it as I got on the elevator. What the heck is your Birthdate doing on your Driver's License when the S.S. # is tied into everything. Can't the cops tell the difference when they stop you whether you are 20 years old or 60? The less info you have about yourself the better. I was recently a victim of credit card fraud to the tune of$4000. But that's another story.

Heading back to the main center, I bought lunch and sat down at one of the tables in the downstairs plaza. There was an ATM right behind me. I watched as people stood in line to get money. I am a nosy person and I love watching people. ( I do believe I craned my neck a bit too much at the Brooks Brothers guy going up the escalator with his male lunch buddies.) Two women walked up and stood in line. I can size people up pretty well, ( all those years in and out of airports) and at first glance they really did look like a couple of street prostitutes. One of them looked like she had just gotton out of bed. The clothes were very tacky and looked second hand and she really did look like she was ready for the street. But there is trendy tacky ( i.e Melrose Ave.) and just plain tacky. Her girlfriend had on a black Beret and a very short skirt and Black boots. Her hair was long and black and was styled in ringlet curls. It is sort of hard to explain........but these two women did not even look llike they were from the seedy part of Hollywood. There was just a different air about them. Maybe they weren't women of the night after all. Maybe they were just out of State. My people watching ended abrubtly when I realized I only had 5 more minutes on the parking meter.

This has to end now too, as I just realized I told my neighbor I would walk with her a 5:00. and it's 20 after.

p.s. Think about coming out to California during the rainy season. Ha ha!

2003-02-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

Warning. This AudioPost is a P.G. 13 Rating

2003-02-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

audblog audio post

Methinks Blogger messed up. The AudBlog is not working. I cannot hear my voice when I click on the Icon.

It's fixed. Luigi changed my broken Quicktime to RealMedia. Now I can hear my dumb and dumber salutation.

2003-02-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

But, Can you Sing?!

I am not really that much of a T.V. person....don't watch a lot ....but Sunday night I did watch, and for the first time in a long time I watched a small part of the Grammy's. I had heard about this new singer Nora Jones on the News and what a phenom she was suppose to be, so I turned on the show, but after it had already started. Eminem had just walked on. You would have had to have lived in a cave the last several years if you do not know who this person is. I didn't have the slightest bit of interest in a white rapper so I just never bothered to hear him. Well, I finally did. The question is "what is the big deal?" I was really trying hard to be very objective. I am assuming this guy is not a musician as he wasn't playing a guitar or any other instrument. He wasn't really even singing, just rapping. So since I have never heard him before I don't know if he does that too.

This is my take on the Eminem Hype. I can't see any talent. There are Black rappers out there that surpass him by a mile. (if you are comparing rappers). He is another white aritst that got booted up to stardom by luck and the damn media, and probably a good manager. I didn't see his first movie either( 8 MIle?) But there is also a lot of talk about how great he is. Did I hear that he was nominated for an Academy Award? Can I put my finger in the back of my throat? Where is the American mind lately? Have we all changed that much that we cannot judge quality anymore?

I had a chance to hear Nora Jones. I really liked her . I watched Eminem as they were announcing the best Album of the year. I said to the T.V. I hope you don't win, you don't deserve it. Nora Jones aced out Eminem , I believe ,on all the three award categories he was up for.......Woo Hoo! Good for Nora Jones. I hope this is a sign that things are turning around in the music industry. Anyway the music business is like anything else, it moves in cycles. Sometimes it's brimming with fresh inspired talent, and sometimes there's just barrels of Junk Soup.

I also find it interesting that a couple of years ago, Congress was really turning up the heat opposing the lyrics on Eminem's and other rappers C.D.'s. Now it seems that things have died down and there isn't as much hoopla over it as there was before. Congress ain't too consistant. I guess they're a little preoccupied with War right now. I, for one, do think that much of that angry Rap is very offensive ,especially against women. I can understand the rebellion in Rap. Rap was born from the dregs of poverty and abuse. But today much of the rap is for effect and I don't get White Rapping. Eminem was never pulled over by the Cops and thrown into a Patrol Car just because he was Black. He could have gotton into trouble but certainly not because of his white hide.

If you are an Eminem fan, I apologize. I am sorry for offending you. But I just don't like him, and I really don't get it. I suppose I was disappointed by the Grammys in the past , and why I hardly ever watch the Grammy Awards. I at least feel, though, that for the short time period that I watched , this year, that it wasn't an entire waste of time. I hope Miss Jones goes on to many more successes. She probably will, being the daughter of Ravi Shankar.

2003-02-19T23:30:00.000-08:00

Rent a Surprise

A very long time ago, around the time of the Dinosaurs, I was young and very irreverant and off the wall. (Well I'm sorta still like that), I made some crazy career moves that just sort of happened. I was just out of school and had become a Flight Attendant. Having a lot of time on my hands (wow did I ever have that option?!) I thought about doing 'other things' for fun and profit.

One day my girlfriend asked me if I would mind coming out of a fake cake kind of box for her husband's surprise Birthday party. Of course I said, why not. That is what gave me the idea for my new 'business'. It just sort of popped into my head one day while I was ----------(eating, most likely). Even the name of the business materialized around the same time as my idea. I put some ads in the local papers with the following copy:
RENT . A . SURPRISE! Party entertainment. If you need someone to jump out of a cake or box at your next party, we are the people to call. For this or any other 'above board' surprise you can think of , call Peach. 555-6666

Well, you just know I had to put some kind of disclaimer in the ad....I just wasn't sure what kind of 'surprises' people would come up with.

My first gig (request) came from a woman who was getting married and wanted a fat opera singer to sing at her wedding. With the sentiment that " It isn't over til the fat lady sings". What a kick! This Surprise was a 'piece of cake' as my Mom was an Opera Singer. The only problem was that she wasn't fat. My Mom is so cool and agreed to do it for me. $75 wasn't so bad when you figured you are only 'on stage' for a few minutes. We stuffed my Mom with extra fabric and small pillows to reach the desired obesity . She was sweating up a storm in all that clothing, but she was a real trooper and everyone just loved her. I'm no greedy employer........of course I gave her the money. (But you know Moms, she wouldn't hear of it and loved to do it anyway and thought my' business' was a hoot.)

An acquaintance of a friend of mine requested a 'Surprise' but wanted something a little stranger and more risque. And now that I am older and wiser, I am wondering why I didn't think of it as a bit rude, dangerous and a bit foolish and.........stupid! But I thought it was so hilarious and loved playing games and fooling other people...........a big ham I was.
He wanted me to come to his party and masquerade as an old friend . I was suppose to flirt with his buddy and do underhanded things like slip him my Motel key and make the flirtatiousness very obvious. And this guy was married!! We agreed on $100 for a fee and I didn't have to stay for the whole party. I'm not sure why he would want to play a trick like this on his friend.......but apparently he thought it was a barrel of laughs.
We scripted the whole thing. He was going to try to put me in my place and I would pick up a 'fake' all whipped cream pie on the table and smash it into his face. If that wasn't enough, he wanted us to argue out by his pool and have me give him the heave ho right into the water! I remember that throughout this whole fiasco, my friend's wife looked at me very strangely and must have wondered what kind of a ditz would do this for money.

The evening arrived and of course I came to the Party in my finest stuff......I mean a flirt can have class....can't she? I did just as my friend (call him Fred) had asked me to do. I flirted with his buddy (Rob)......starting out very subtlely and raising the intensity of the flirt as the evening wore on. Some of the people at the party started whispering and making 'what a bitch' kind of faces. Fred came over a few times and warned me to tone it down. Rob was embarrased as hell. At first he just thought I was being nice, but I kept at it and turned up the heat and really did the Motel key bit and all the outrageous flirting that I wouldn't even do ever in 'real life'.

It finally came to the point in the 'script' where Fred irritated me so much for bugging me about 'flirting' with Rob at his party that I picked up the pie on cue and let him have it. There were a few giggles but mostly the party goers were shocked and a lot of oh-h-h's and "oh my God's" were passing around the room. But the biggest 'hit' of the night was when we had an escalated argument and I pushed him into the pool. That was the absolute best part as he was standing very close to someone else and he fell into the water as well!!

Fred finally explained to everyone that it was all a big joke and that we had successfully tricked the masses. Rob was so relieved. I really do think that Fred especially picked on him because he was a little shy. Picking a victim who was a "I know I'm cool and irresistible" type of guy would obviously not have worked. I stayed for the rest of the evening because most everyone had accepted it all as a joke and I felt comfortable enough in staying on.

I have the business card in front of me ( I found it cleaning out my drawer and it is why I was reminded of it) It reads RENT-a-SURPRISE in a caligraphy script. Underneath that is a 'raised' picture of Aladin's Lamp on a thick cream stock. Below that it reads: We do any Surprise
All Occasions
Surprise-o-Gram
Peach Zeenie (213) 555-6666

Sometimes from out of nowhere, when I least expect it, I get this nutty urge to go out and do mayhem and rock the boat a little..................but hey, it doesn't happen very often. But if you know someone that knows me and is having a party...........well don't put it past them, they might catch you off guard one time.................and I could be in the mood.........

2003-02-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

Are You Hot Kevin?!

Are You Hot?

Host: Bob Noxious

And......now our next Hot Contestant in Hot Zone One from Sasquatch Maine........... Lisa !!!

Judge: Rachel Hunter
You have a nice face but no where near perfect ....I give you a 7.2 for your face, and a 6.5 for your body...too skinny...overall sex appeal, I give you 7.5.

Judge: Wuzhisname Surferlook
You need to use more eye-make-up........you have very dark hair......and what happened to your bazookas?!!

Lisa:
(pulling at her bikini top and smiling) This is the real me, this is me !!

T.V. Audience: Peach
Woo Hoo!!! No fake Gel Crap for this one!!! Yeah Lisa!!!!

Wuzhisname:
You have a very pretty face....I give you a 9.6 for your face......your body a 7.5 ....too skinny, eat some more! Like your attitude and self confidence.......I give you a 9.8 sex appeal.

Judge #3: Imsokool Kantremberhizname
I give you an 8 for your face.......and a 6.5 for your body...no breasts...too skinny.......overall sex appeal, I give you a 9. (Lisa walks off) (Mr Hot walks in)

Bob Noxious:
...And now our next Hot Guy from Orland Park, Illinois...............let's hear it for Kevin!!!!!!

Peach:
Sweet.......nice sympatico guy, nice pecs, nice abs!.......cute!

Wuzhisname:
Smile!............no, smile some more. Can't you smile? Open your mouth. No, open it wider. Open your mouth!

Kevin:
( Lips quivering like jelly......trying to open his mouth in front of 50 trillion people watching all over the country.)

Wuzhisname:
Can't you open your mouth wide?.........open it!! You have bad teeth........ I give you a 7 for your face........your body is good.....I give you a 9.4 for that.......overall sex appeal I give you 9.9......hey, there is always room for improvement!

Audience:Texas Horse Rancher (whispering to his buddy next to him)
That's how my buyers check out my horses before they buy them......lookin' at their teeth; make sure they is gettin' what they done paid for..................never thought they'd use it for people.

Rachel:
I give you an 8.5 for your face.......a 7.5 for your body, I think it's too big.....and an 8.5 for sex appeal.

Imsokool:
I give you a 9 for your face because you are a great looking guy and a 9.9 for your body....awsome body and a 9.8 overall sex appeal.

(Next 4 contestants get very high scores......average 9 or 9.5........definitely higher than Kevin. I lost some of the show.......got bored and continued to surf................saw ending)

Bob Noxious:
....And now our fourth Hot Guy who made it to the finals..................Kevin!!!!!!!!!!!

Audience:
Much applause.

Bob Noxious:
I am sorry for those of you who did not meet the qualifications for being Hot..........Would you please exit the stage...(So long losers.....)

End of Show (Hot Zone 1).............credits roll......all Hot Babes and Hot Guys waving to the audience.

Four Hundred years from now when they open the Time Capsule 2003 floating out in space, they will view the video for a T. V. program called Are You Hot?

Space Cadet Hardwan:
Man, what kind of people would watch that?!

Space Cadet Lowsha:
I guess they weren't too bright...........lack of culture........maybe not everyone in those days had opportunities for education . You know, a lot of ignorance.

Hardwan:
Hmmm.......I don't think so. According to history, there were many people who continued to furthur their education.

Lowsha:
Then what was it?

Hardwan:
Probably boredom........maybe Wannabe Fever or Couch Potato syndrome..........Many Americans in those days considered those kinds of programs to be illuminating.

Lowsha:
Get out of Town!!!!!! You mean there were more of those programs?!! (in shock) No way!!!!!!

Hardwan:
Yes way. They called them Reality Shows.

Lowsha:
That sucks..........makes me embarrased that my American ancestors were so....so.... crude.......you know no class..........

Hardwan:
History can repeat itself......as they say. There is never a perfect world........our progeny may feel the same about us.

Lowsha:
Yeah.......maybe......but there just couldn't be any worse crap than those Reality Shows they watched! Hey, I'm getting tired of logging these Laser Flashes and Time Capsules.......Let's take a break on Calm-out Space Isle...........maybe a little nookie before your wife gets back to Platform 7?

Hardwan:
Great idea...meet you there in 5 minutes!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

2003-01-27T22:11:00.000-08:00

The Octopus Speaks

While waiting in the Doctor's office for my Vitamin B-12 shot, I was honored to be serenaded by someone's snore, sitting across from me on the far side. Very pleasing and pleasant to listen too not! It was annoying, and strange to feel as though I were in some stranger's bedroom. I so not wanted to be anywhere near this Mr. Blubber's house. However, while I was sitting there, a great lightbulb went off in my head and I was so excited to think about writing it all down on my Blog when I got home. The good news is that I made it home with my mental acuity intact and not driven mad by the fiendish snore. The bad news is that I totally forgot the 'great' idea. Oh well, that's Bloglife.

I am now working on 42 projects all at the same time. It is so rewarding to come to the end of the day and know that very little has been accomplished and I must wake up the next day to pick up where I had left off and hope that what I am working on will be finished before 2004; so that I could catch a little T.V. or maybe read a book, or possibly go down to the local Merchant and yell at them about what lousy service they have. If it wouldn't be for my eight glorious arms, I would probably never finish anything. So I am grateful for that.

No one was on the streets yesterday in the afternoon. They were all in front of the tube. I am not really a football fan, although I used to be. My T.V. was tuned to the Super Bowl on Sunday, but I was not watching it. Surprise of surprises is that Luigi was watching it. He allegedly hates football. So what does that mean??? The annual Super Bowl was such an incredibly exciting game, that a football hater just had to watch it?

May the Work Weenie always be with you. ( It isn't fair that I keep him all to myself.)

2003-01-13T16:34:00.000-08:00

Well Peach, Are You Gonna Update before the End of this Year??!

I am getting comments about my tardiness to post. I have a million things to post about and so little time to do it in. I feel like putting an ad in the throwaways for a virtual writing idiot who can think what I am thinking simultaneously and post immediately to my Blog no matter where I am. Someone already replied named Shakeit who has the mind of a bird and really thought it could work.

My nonsense follows my wonderful cold I had this week-end which prevented me from attending a fellow friend Blogger's party. But seriously, so much fun I had this Saturday and Sunday, instead, cleaning out the Linen shelves so that there would be more room to put Luigi's stuff away. I also got to clean up Zeenie and Sammie's(my cats) hairball and other messes(cleaning goop off the carpet is one of my favorite pastimes. I do it all the time).......why should I attend a party anyway when there are so many more exciting things to do around the Peach household.

I promise to post again . I have much to say about Mexico City......but perhaps I'll be in a variant mood and leave some other dribble. You know how blogging is. It's a matter of what 'hits you at the moment' as you sit down to play with the keyboard.(love it!)

I will be back. In the meantime will someone be so kind as to tell me why the font changed just before my January 1st Post and then changed back again? I like the posts that changed. Now it's back to the old one which I don't like that much. I really didn't do anything to the template except to add the html code to my post for the photo. Nothing was done but that, and it changed the other posts from before that post. I'm sure you can see the difference.

Happy Birthday Moxie! Sorry I couldn't make it to your celebration.

Peach

2003-01-01T23:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I wish all of you a very wonderful and happy 2003. This Blog will be closed until January 7 while it's creator is in Mexico City exploring and attending a wedding. My New Year's resolutions are quite clear for this Blog. Hopefully it will be under construction soon and a new 'Swan' shall emerge. Anyone with any bright ideas, please do leave a comment. I am very open to suggestions.

All the best....Happy 2003 and 'see' you all when I return.

Hasta La Vista,
Peach

2002-12-21T16:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to All!!!

Duh!!!
I don't even want to tell you the stupid error I made. Anyway the point is I discovered it, and now I'm over the hump. The next tackle is transferring my own photos. I'm going to see if White Christmas is available at Blockbuster. I'll have five days to view it anyway. I've noticed that many Bloggers are out last minute Christmas shopping. ( No one is making any comments anywhere, on any Blogs)

This Holiday busy-ness is sucking my creativity dry. I feel scattered like tinsel on a Christmas Tree. Hope you are faring better, and that you will all be with some (or someone's) family for the next week.

Feliz Navidad and Boun Natale!
Peach

2002-12-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

Online Learning

Well I guess you can see I am in the process of learning how to construct a Blog. After all these months I got frustrated with not knowing how to do things for myself. So unfortunately I have to err in public. There is no use in redesigning this Blog with MT if I can't even do the basics. Maybe in the next entry there will be a real photo. For now the 'mistake' will have to suffice until I get it right. I probably should have taken a computer class a long time ago. But when I got my computer I sort of learned what I had to know by the 'seat of my pants'. The blogging was discovered by accident and luckily it was just a matter of picking a 'Blogskin' from Blogger and poof! Instant Blog. The rest was easy. The few photos I had up were done for me. Of all the Bloggers out there, I know no one, except for myself, who is as ignorant as I about the technology of simple computer stuff. If I had had the time I needed I am sure this would have been taken care of several months ago. Hey, anything can be learned . I just need patience and commitment and............ time!??

P.s. Thanks to Troy and Ken for their attempts to help the 'tech-less' wonder.

2002-12-17T01:18:00.000-08:00

Anyone Got a Digital Camera?

This is so frustrating. My 'Holiday Picture' was scanned very badly. It looks decrepid. I am so disappointed. If I get MT, can I upload pictures easier? If you have some answers, please let me know. I have some pictures at Kodak Center.com. That's easy. But this picture was before I had my pictures automatically sent to the web. I was thinking of going to ebay to get a used digital camera. But who do you trust? Ironically, what is so frustrating, is this is one of my favorite pictures and looks so different on the real photo. By the way Luigi is not a dork and does not have a balloon body. I'll have to get another picture.

2002-12-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

Yo Workaholic !

There are many things I do not understand. One of them is how people post to their Blogs if they are so busy. The last two weeks, especially have been over the top for me. I am assuming that most bloggers make their posts a priority and try to 'make an appointment' with their computer on a regular basis, maybe even the same time of day. I keep saying I will get up earlier and Blog the very first thing..........but something always seems to come up. This subject has come up more than once on on my Blog.

I am suppose to have a 'Guest Blogger'. But he was very busy yesterday. I am hoping that he can Guest Blog in the next day or two. I also will be putting up a different, Holiday picture. As far as not having any time, I really think if I had a regular 9-5 job, I would have more time. Because I would just come home and go directly to the computer. I would have nothing else to do. As it is, having your own business involves some bookkeeping, servicing clients, reading trade journals and recording all your checks. That's only part of it. And your evenings are not always your own. I don't really miss the T.V. But I do regret my precious reading time being eaten away. Music I do not give up for anything. But that's easy. Just slip in a C.D. in your computer or have a radio near by. For a while I completely forgot that I could do that. Right now I am listening to The Long Black Veil by the Cheiftans. (look it up on towerrecords.com). They are an Irish group , and I do like Irish music. But is a bit of a different C.D. Most of it is traditional Irish Songs, but a bit is contemporary. Every song has a guest artist; the likes of Mick Jagger, Sinead O'Connor, Van Morrison, Ry Cooder, Marianne Faithfull, among others. It was released in 1995, and I haven't heard it for a long time. Makes you wonder some time where all the talent has gone. Now its just Hotties in low-rise jeans who have great mangers and strong breaks but no talent. I was commneting on someone's blog the other day, about whatever happened to people like Fiona Apple and Joan Osborne. Now we have Cristina Aguilera and Britney Spears. But then again, they mainly just appeal to the pre-teen set.

A quick note. My sister and Mom and I rented a DVD yesterday. My sister had already seen it a while back but said it was something we should see. I am not a Brad Pitt fan but I think he came through very well in this film. It's called Seven Years in Tibet I did not know too much about the Dalai Lama, and had not heard of this young Austrian mountain climber who had written his own story that the film was based on. It's a story of a people, a culture, and a way of life that had existed for hundreds of years. The Tibetans were paranoid of any foreigners who entered their land, and could only poorly watch their Indian Tibetan borders in minimal ways guarded with unarmed farmers and shepherders. Their fears were not unfounded. Ironically they were taken over by a very strong and powerful nation who wanted to see their religious and spiritual ways destroyed. And ultimately this powerful nation of China decimated thousands of villages and monastaries. Many people had to flee for their lives. That was almost 60 years ago. Today the Dalai Lama lives in exile. By the way I totally disagree with 'reader comments' in IMDB. I think the commenter was sleeping. I have also heard that the Austrian, Heinrich Harrar was a nazi, but it was NOT revealed in the movie at all. In fact they sugarcoated it and alluded to the fact that he really didn't care.

Hmmm........not really a quick note. This post should be called "Fleeting Thoughts" .

I took out my lunch time to write this. I couldn't just let my Blog become an antique, now, could I?

2002-12-10T00:50:00.000-08:00

Wacko Weenies on the Web

I recieved some dreadful, vituperative 'rants' on my Comment section yesterday. When you think how wide the World Wide Web really is, I supppose I shouldn't be surprised. After all in the real world there are kazillions of First rate jerks out there. I was just surprised to see it...stting here in my tight 'secure' little cocoon. My innocence and unsullied view of Cyberspace is no longer there. I sit and watch and wait. I e-mailed a couple of my friends to get some feedback. It appears others have incurred derogatory and malicious remarks and defamation on their websites via Comment Tools. It would be nice to have a Trash File where they could be instantly deleted and blocked at the same time. You have it in your e-mail , I am sure there is a way to do it on your comments as well. Someone is getting back to me on that.

We all have to regularly take out our trash. We can't keep it forever in our house. But trash builds up again, and in real life you gotta take it out to the dumpster and get rid of it. I will just make sure that as watchful as I am that I take out my 'trash' on my Blog, on a daily basis , if necessary. There really is a lot of trash out there and the little Weenies who leave the trash trails have nothing else to do. After all if you are 'small', there isn't a whole lot you can do about it , except to roar and do adolescent things to get attention to make up for your 'deficiency'.

Do you think these guys believe the email ads they are getting of promises for enlargement of their organs?

You gotta feel sorry for guys with deficient genes.

Peach

2002-12-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

Bad Day at Black Rock (Thanksgiving/Misgivings Week)

Looking at the last entry I see that I haven't blogged since November 19th. It has been a very upsetting and trying week with many goings on and problems to plow through. Thanksgiving Day I was with my family. It was at this time that I started to grasp the importance and meaning of what Thanksgiving is really all about. I actually was very happy and had all the nice , warm, snuggly, holiday emotions of being together with people who love me and have known me all my life. Being alone during the holidays must be a very sad place to be. Being surrounded by family was only one of the blessings I counted on Thursday.

The problematic week was not finished at Thanksgiving. I continued to have stress related situations throughout the week-end. Bad Day at Black Rock was a good movie. And although the guy in the movie had only one 'bad day', I had the whole week. It's interesting how that title popped into my head this week as I was pondering my problems and how to get out of them. I figured that life is like the Stock Market. It goes up and down. When it's down we all hollar and whine and cry over our 'losses'. But then again the Stock Market will go back up and we're in Hog Heaven once more. They say over time if you invest in the Stock Market and balance well by divirsifying correctly in different securities and Mutual Funds(not everything all in one place) that over the long haul you will reap rewards. If we all hang in there, over time , the sum total of our life is also rewarding. I say this with complete candor......I mean it. This past week has been proof to me. That in one week I have seen both sides and realize that another door always opens. I remember a quote, actually I think it was a title of a book but I cannot remember the author. The Title was "Been Down so Long looks Like Up to Me." Thank God, that has not been the case for me and I would not wish that on anyone. The point is for most of us, no matter how bad something seems at the time, there is always something or someone around the next corner waiting to ease us along.

Another minor problem has just 'popped' up. On the black border below my post window has appeared this line: "Sorry, publishing is temporarily unavailable. (why?)" I wonder if Blogger has gone belly up or will have technical problems for the next several hours or maybe days. Who knows. Well, whatever. Today I feel like I can tackle anything. Sunday was a nice day. I went down to Tokyo Town in late afternoon , specifically to buy a pair of Zori's. My old ones were falling apart. But I had a great time browsing through the stores and the shopping village. I felt like buying Luigi a gift. It was a little black lacquer box to possibly keep his bills or other things inside to organize his poor messy desk. I told him it was a Hanukkah gift for him , even though he is not Jewish. I strolled through First Street and ended up having an early dinner at Suehiro. It was a great experience and reminded me a little of being in Japan again.

As I was waiting for a signal to change I watched a strange, disturbing person cross the street. It was a homeless dwarf, pitifully crippled and dirty, with raggedy hair and bare feet. He was limping along and his skin was so dark it was hard to tell if it was natural or from baking in the sun. My Mom says there are no coincidences, and although I felt very sad for this individual, I was reminded how all my 'problems' seemed so entirely tivial as not even worthy to mention in this Blog.

I am eternally grateful to a power that is higher than me and try to remember not to take anything for granted.

Your Friend,
Peach

2002-11-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

The Taxman

I am reminded of the old Beatle song "The Taxman" upon writing this entry. I don't know all the words, but basically it all boils down to 'He's going to get you, and there ain't no way out of it." My absence from this site for the week, was primarily due to spending all my precious free time on piles of documentation, and gathering personal records for the Internal Revenue Service. Don't you just love that name? If I had not been so thoroughly frustrated this week, I think I might laugh.

Whoever is the author of that famous phrase; "Nothing is sure but death and Taxes" was a very wise man. I cannot think of anything so determinedly more permanent or final than the word Tax. Now maybe you have not had any hassles or problems and have just skated along, blessedly with most of your paycheck intact and very happy about the adjusted 'outcome'. I am one of those that is not a happy camper. I cannot get into a long story here, but it was not Income Tax Evasion. It was just a 'simple' matter of being left with an unfair proportion of the tax bill from my dearly 'expatriated' ex. I could not keep up with my Quarterlies because of that, and got behind for three years. I even set up a payment plan with the IRS right away. I file on time and when I got back up on my feet, I also stayed current with the Quarterlies. You have no idea how outrageous the penalties and interest are. Someone told me they can sometimes be more than $25 a day.

I had heard about an Offer in Compromise. Unfortunately the "Kindlier and more Gentle" IRS is a 'Stupider' IRS. You cannot get the same answer from anyone , no matter which department you reach. I appplied in September of 2000. In April of the following year they asked for more info. By the end of 2001 I was wondering what took so long. I was informed that the person that was working on my case was no longer there. Who was it assigned to ? I asked, expecting to get a logical answer. She told me that no one else had been assigned. I was surprised. You mean it has just been sitting on someone's desk?! 'Uh, yes I guess so', was her response. Being the "don't give up the ship" person that I am, I got the ball rolling again. In August of 2002, I received an official IRS letter in the mail. It very casually informed me that the forms I had submitted were obsolete and they were enclosing new ones to be resubmitted. ##**^^**$#####!!!***!!!!!(I cannot print my real reaction on this public Blog)

The story goes on and on. You just wouldn't even believe the rest of it If I told you anyway. I have now gone online and also called some numbers of 'Tax Relief' promo letters I have gotton in the mail. Each company says what the other one told me is a pack of lies and there is no way if I approach it from that angle, the IRS will even give me a break. Others ("the best specialists in the country", they say) let me know of all their great references and how they have helped 98%!(can you imagine that!) of the people that come to them for Tax advice. The difference in fees is astounding....even from attorneys...ranging from $250 to $2800. The guy who offered to do it for $250 says his company has been in business for over 8 years and the other companies overacharge for nothing because there really isn't any 'representation' at all. Just a bunch of forms being taken care of and mailed in to the IRS. Then what do I need you for ? I asked him.

I really don't believe there is anything you can do about lowering your taxes unless you have a maven for a CPA or Tax Accountant. From the first time I ever voted , and from the very first 'adult', after college paycheck I ever recieved, I never saw any major differences in my Tax burden. No lmatter who is in the White House, there doesn't seem to be any changes in my check. If you are self-employed, it is even worse because you are paying double Social Security; since you are both the 'employer' and the 'employee'. With all my expenses, I am no millionaire. (But it is so nice not to have a boss!) The only big tax break California ever saw was the passing of Prop. 13 which lowered property taxes substantially for all homeowners. But the IRS ? Forget it! You pay less in your dreams.

My Canadian cousin is tired of my whining. He told me I should come up to Canada to live and work and find out what real heavy duty taxes are! He seems to think Americans are spoiled as far as complaining about taxes in comparison with the rest of the world. I suppose he's right. But I keep thinking of those guys at the Boston Tea Party and all the fun they had.............and if we are spoiled we do so like to quote the Constitution and stick with our hoplessly romantic ideas of paying less to our dear Uncle Sam. Hmm.............. I suppose maybe us Americans should have more respect for our elders, even when do get our bottoms spanked once in a while. After all we are spoiled!

Peach
Supporter of the Tax Free America
(not to be confused with Range Free Chickens)

2002-11-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

Attack of the Marabunta

I went to the pantry this morning to get out three of my favorite boxes of cereal, ( I like to mix them up). I set them down on the sink. Immediately 5 million crawly black 'anties' speedily spread out in all directions. When I moved the boxes from the site, I was horrified. They were all over the place and scampering fast away from the impact. Luigi heard me scream from the other room. I sputtered out all kinds of expletives and squirmed when I found one crawling up my arm. I commited much homocide this morning with a damp sponge. Those little monsters do not drown that easily . You can submerge them so they are covered in water, and then when you stop the faucet, those buggers are still moving around at the speed of light. If humans had that kind of indestructiveness just think what we could accomplish!

I told the Manager of my apartment building , and he told me I was the only one with an ant problem. Figures. He said he could'spray'. But I am not too convinced about the procedure as I have two cats and it is right inside the pantry.

I suppose I should be fortunate that I do not live in Venezuela. I am told that the Marabunta down there can overtake and kill a man if he is lying down. I will have to remind myself that when I go into the Rain Forest, that snakes and scorpions are not the only thing that I must fear. Luigi grew up in Caracas and I really wanted to hike up to Angel Falls with him when we go down to visit his parents. I am not so sure now........thinking about that little ant this morning making it's way up my forearm......... Considering that the Marabunta is a giant compared to our homegown ants here in California.

Next Episode:The Revenge of the Ant Killer

Peach

2002-11-07T11:10:00.000-08:00

A Bloggers's Dream

A much aniticipated United Airlines Flight # 279 from Orlando to LAX, arriving 2:57 pm today. This will fit in later.

I had a very stange dream last night. I was pal-ing around with a male buddy of mine. I do not remember the whole dream, but a few things are very vivid in my mind. On day I was over at his place(apparently). I was sitting around in my pajamas reading a paper, while he was in the shower getting ready for something. His girlfriend pops over. She was an elegant 'Beverly Hills Chick', dressed very nicely. She greeted me courteously and wanted to know who I was. I must have told her that we were just friends, and started immediately chatting about all the beautiful dresses they were showing in ads in the paper and complaining that I couldn't afford them.(Now don't jump too any conclusions yet. I hang out sometimes in my P.J.'s all day at my desk at home when I don't have an appointment).

Now that is not the end of the dream. When I woke up this morning the first thing that entered my mind was that this guy was a fellow Blogger! And then I pondered on the dream a little longer and realized the woman was also a Blogger. Then I remembered the rest of the dream. I was somewhere in a store, looking to buy a Wedding vase. The Woman next to me(who I believed at first to be someone's mother) told me that I could have gotton the over $100 price tag vase in Palm Springs for $39.95. I said to her isn't that always the case, being able to get it somewhere else cheaper. A man was also standing there. (apparently her son). He was someone I knew.(Not the first man described above), He was realitively short, about my height(5' 71/2"), Jewish, and wearing a sport jacket. He put out his hand and offered me a crumpled up $100 bill and some other $5 and $10 dollar bills as well. At first I refused . Oh no. You must take this money. he said, putting the bills in my hand. I finally accepted the money to pay for the vase. I hugged him feeling warm and very attached to him. The only other thing I remember is the woman(His Mom I thought) giving me a ride somewhere. This is also a visual I can remember well. We were driving up to this corner , being surrounded by empty fields. It reminded me of the place the bus dropped Cary Grant off in the movie "North by Northwest"( the scene with the crop duster plane chasing him).

This is where it gets interesting. I realized all of these people are Bloggers I have been visiting on a very regular basis lately. The first guy and the woman I figured out first. The first Man is from the South, very sweet and dear, down to earth, writes essays,rides his bike,travels and wants to find a woman to love and have kids. The Beverly Hills woman is also easy to figure out. At first I thought my dream was about setting up these two people, wanting to be a matchmaker .........but they are so totally at opposing ends of the personality spectrum,and from very different lifestyles that I doubt they would hit it off. (She wants a Jewish guy with means.) The Jewish man in the dream at first I could not figure out. But due to the action in the dream, I remembered. I won a contest on someone's Blog and he sent me $50 to my paypal account as my prize. I was just trying to be a little outrageous on his Blog. (once in a while to get away from my goodie2-shoes self image). The descriptions don't always fit in dreams. The blogger who gave me the money ,I think, is neither short nor Jewish. And then the last solving of the puzzle came together. The 'mother' in the dream really is a mother but too young to have a son that old. But she is a very sweet person who helps people, and came to my aid yesterday in answer to a desperate e-mail.

What is a little puzzling is that 2 men are missing in this dream(unless I forgot part of it). The first man I can understand because I have just very recently started up again to visit his Blog as he was on hiatus for three months. The other man I have been visiting (his Blog) on a daily basis . It is very possible, as in all dreams, that characters in the dream may represent more than one person. The times I was pal-ing around with this character at different turns could have been one or the other. (Who was the one in the shower?) Before you go making cracks about the shower and my Pajamas-------Remember this is a lonely, frustrated, deprived, very affectionate woman whose significant other has been out of town for over a week, and whose obsession with Bloggers over the last week , is reminiscent of lonelyhearts and snoops.

When my honey comes home this afternoon I am going to jump him!!

Lonely Peach

2002-11-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

Lead Me not Into Temptation.......

Though I walk through the Valley of Addiction I will fear no evil.....Thy Rod and Staff, they comfort me...Thou leadest me to the clear waters of the 12-step Program......

Help!!! I have become an Addicted Blogger. I am serious about this. It is not my Blog that is becoming the problem. It is other Blogs. I have been spending a lot of time reading other people's Blogs and leaving Comments.(especially RWT). It is becoming a hazzard and I am desperate. It is interfering with my work. I do not use a Computer for work. My home and office are the same place. In order to earn $$ I have to get away from the computer, off my but, and out the door! Today I was late for an appointment(not business related) and it was because I had totally lost track of time. ' Miss holier than Thou' thought she wasn't addicted to anything and believed the BS she was propagating in her head. I don't even watch Soap Operas! Where have the mental controls gone?

I cannot afford to do this anymore.....at least not the way I have been doing it. I have decided to quit the surfing for the next business week. But I will continue to try to keep up with my Blog to stay current, so please don't let my addiction stop you from coming by. Next week I am going to have to set up a schedule, namely setting my alarm for about 1 1/2 hours earlier so I can Blog Hop and still hope to have enough time to work. I have tried doing this at night and it doesn't work either, because I have to work at night sometimes too, which means I start blogging at Midnight and get to bed too late.

If I sneak around your Blog I guess you are going to have to slap my hand! If any of you have an suggestions, please let me know! I'm not sure if any of you have a weird schedule like me, where you are working partly during the day and the evening. The only person I know who is busier than me is Rachel...and she keeps up a daily Blog!! I still don't know how she does it.

You know now that I have said it , I fear the commitment. It is so hard to quit Cold Turkey, even for a week! Puhleese give me some advice!
I feel like running over to your Blog right now...........stop, stop, stop.....s--t! I havent been over to Troy or Joanie or Ele. Rants, or Moxie or ...........The problem is the list is getting too long.......

Your Faithful Friend,
Peach

2002-11-02T01:31:00.000-08:00

No Fear

I just finished watching that DVD I bought at Costco a couple of months ago. (See Archive August 18--Week-end Strategies) It is a documentary about Surfing Champion Sunny Garcia. I really love watching Surf movies. It holds some kind of nostalgic,vicarious, and athletic adventure for me. I was surrounded by surfers in High School. I lived near the Beach. I went to the Beach on Fall and Spring look alike summer afternoons and most of my summer vacation. I dated Surfers. I had Surfer friends. Much of California's sandy shores is a Surf kingdom......uniquely its own culture not shared with any other State except for Hawaii.

Sunny Garcia is 30 years old now. He started surfing in his native Hawaii when he was about 12. After a while school became an obstacle to his daily ride on the waves. So sometimes he just didn't show up. Today he says he does not regret his lack of interest in school. He has won 5 Triple Crowns and may not retire as he alluded to in the documentary.I don't see it. The Rap and rock music background, played second fiddle to the acrobatics on the water. I just watched stunned and awed(haven't seen a Surf movie in a long time) by the reality defying stunts that Sunny and the other surfers pulled off. You could have told me he walked on water and I would have believed it. The swift movement of his surboard , manuvered by Sunny in the water, whipped in and out, and up and over and back again in one unbroken, awesome action. His arms, out to the sides,or stretched out in front, his knees 1/2 bent and his weight leaning forward, guided his board up a 30 foot wave and with one swift easy turn whipped that sucker back down again in a blick of an eye with the foam wake spitting out in the air from the back of his board. I watched, I watched, I sat, I ate my Hit Cookie, motionless, my eyes not daring to move from the screen lest I miss something. No one was around to talk to me or make comments. (the T.V. Remote King is out of town). I just sort of marinated on the couch and wondered why I had never tried to surf myself.

A year after I had started flying I was sitting in First Class after a Breakfast Service to Honolulu. The other two Fight Attendants were talking . One Redhead named Catherine, told me she had gone to Pali High. I wanted to know if she knew an old boyfriend from my second year in college. His name was Pete and he graduated from Pali. Really sad about him, isn't it? What's sad? I wanted to know. She asked me if I hadn't heard about the accident in Hawaii. I told her I did not. Apparently he had drowned in a surfing accident . I was stunned and a little shaken. I thought that I might see him again some day. It is a long story, but I was not that nice to him the last time we spoke. After I started flying and had left home, he had called my Dad and got my new phone number. He came out to see me. I can still remember the way he looked. He was tall and looked like Liam Neeson. (Maybe that's why I like Neeson). We walked along the beach and discussed old times.........the'dimple' story that made me laugh; the day his car rolled back down a hill ,driverless, and him running after it until it crashed into another car at the bottom of the hill, with such impact that the windshield got destroyed. We laughed remembering driving home that night with no windshield and the cold air blowing in our faces . I see him standing there with his jacket and hair wipping around in the late afternoon wind and the spray from the darkened waves behind him. He was so nice. That was the last time I saw him. I sometimes think that the story was not true, or because they did not find his body that he really was still alive. Many times I think that I will run into him and we'll sit and chat and talk about what it would be like to be 19 again. I really do believe that I will. After that I never thought about trying to surf again. I'm a bit old now to try, even if I wanted too. Most of those guys start at 12 and are ready to retire at 30.

I'm glad I grew up out here. Only California natives really know what the culture is . That's true of wherever you are from. We become 'enculturated' by the traditions and the geography and the people we grow up with that is indigenous to that region. It's as though we all live in a different country even thought we are only separated by State Lines. I grew up with no snow for Christmas and no seasons. But I had the Beach and the Mountains.....and thank God I learned to Ski. I sat there watching that surf movie, with a little regret and a little sadness. But I do know there were other athletic adventures that I pursued. And even though I haven't been skiing in a coon's age, I can still feel that cold wind in my face, racing down a mountain with my speed loving soul taking in all that white snow beauty and the California Sierra Nevadas . That is one sport I think everyone should try . When you are 'whooshing' down the mountain at that pace in the clear ,frosty, air with only two skinny 'boards' under your feet, its' an exhiliration that is hard to describe.

As far as my 'culture' on this end of the country is concerned, I know the Surf Culture has affected the rest of the country as well. That's where the word 'dude' got so popularized as well as (something or someone) Rules! And also some phrases like"hang ten" and "Shoot the curl". Some commercial surfing gear has spread out into our everyday wear gear as well. Companies like "No Fear", "Billlabong", and "G-Shock" who make clothes and paraphanalia for surfers and who also sponsor the Surf Championships are well known all over the world now for their brand names.

I could have kept watching that film, and I might have, given the fact that all DVD's now come with extra options to watch that could keep you up all night. But I wanted to get something off on my Blog and go to sleep at a decent hour.

Surfers Rule!
Peach

2002-10-30T03:20:00.000-08:00

Time Clock Ticking on Your Skin ?

I spent all day at a Continuing Education class. I arrived 10 minutes late and I was told my class moved to room 107. So I meandered through the maze of hallways and finally found the classroom. I sat down next to my Dad . He told me at the break that everyone went to the wrong class and if it hadn't been for that attractive woman over there he would have stayed in the wrong class. After the break I looked over to my right where she was sitting. She really was a beautiful woman. But what was so astonishing is that she was probably in her 50's. Now this is a woman that you would have turned around and taken notice of, and that men would have been drawn to, she was that good looking. It is an oxymoron, considering the kind of beauty standards we have in our culture. Namely that old and beautiful do not go together. I still think it is probably a lot harder for a woman to grow older than it is for a man. Think about it. A man's lines and wrinkles just seem to add to an attractive older man's ruggedness. There are procedures women may choose as an option to delay the inevitible: becoming invisible. I had to laugh, the other day when a friend of mine and I were talking about implants. What would some of these women look like at 70? Everything falling down and deteriorating except for their breasts, sticking out firm and supple as though they were 20.........is that something we are going to see in the next 20- 30-40 years?......is that weird or what?

I pulled out a couple of grey hairs and my Mom was horrified that I would pull out hair. I am the only one I know that does not color my hair. I am not going to do it until my hair actually does turn grey. I like my hair color. Most people I know in their 20's 30's and 40's all color their hair. I seem to be a dinosaur. My friend told me to 'get with it girl'. Growing old gracefully will probably be difficult for a lot of us. I try to imagine how a Victoria's Secret model would react in about 30 years from now. Would she look at old pictures of herself and stare in the mirror and sob? It's easy to say you won't have a problem with age if you never have really been there.

If there is something else you can look forward to, and to arrange your life to be fulfulliing in other ways,perhaps the getting older part will not mean so much. I for one, hope to have most of my brain cells intact so that I can read, and carry on interesting discourse with friends and still see all the wonder that is around me. There are some women, well known, who for the most part made their lives rewarding and meaningful and may not have had a problem with growing old gracefully. Most of the following women made some kind of contribution besides being so ethereally beautiful:

1.Grace Kelly
2. Audrey Hepburn
3. Hedy Lamarr
4.Vivien Leigh(The first time I saw Gone with the Wind I wanted to look like her)
5.Elizabeth Taylor
6. Julie Christie

The rest of these women I think are also beautiful: ( not in any specific order)
1. Charlize Theron
2. Madeleine Stowe
4. Kim Basinger
5.Ashley Judd
6. Nicole Kidman
7. Daniella(Victoria's Secret)
8. Audrey Tatou(Amelie)
9. Cameron Diaz
10. Halle Berry
11. Gail Russell(40's Star)
12. Natalie Wood
13. Selma Hayak
14. Elizabeth Hurley(Luigi Likes her)
15. Isabelle Adjani

There has to be a Guy's Column too!---These are my favorites:(no specific order either)

1. Johnny Depp
2. Michael Schoeffling
3. Harrison Ford(circa 80's)
4. Antonio Banderas
5.Liam Neeson
6. Sean Connery(James Bond)
7.AL PACINO!(Godfather and his early movies --but still like him)
8.Guy Madison(Awesome! saw his picture in a Book of old male movie stars in Barnes & Noble)
9. Burt Lancaster(young)
10.Clark Gable(young)
11.Gregory Peck(especially BIg Country--one of my favorite Westerns)
12.Jeff Fahey(never made it big--Lawn Mower Man)
13. Pierce Brosnan
14. Jeff Bridges
15. Denzel Washington..........
and of course
16. Luigi Mascarpone

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder , as I recall ,so most of you, I'm sure have your own lists.

Peach

2002-10-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

Last night I was on the freeway headed for Downtown and the Music Center to see Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk(the first 's' is silent). It's about a murderous, scheming woman who kills her husband and father-in-law, and has her cake and sex too, until the end. I love Opera anyway...(you don't have to get me to an opera just because there is sex in it)point me in the direction of Puccini, Mozart, Bizet and especially Verdi and I'm on my way. However I had not seen an opera as visually graphic as this one. There was some pretty heavy sex simulation in a couple of scenes. Once behind a diaphonous red curtain (the Lover, Sergei looked a bit comical to me because he was going at it like a jackrabbit, 20million times a second) and the second inside a barrel with the poor sex harrassed cook and a laborer. The music is by Shostakovich. Name sound familiar? I have heard his work before but not this particular Opera. The music was great and I enjoyed the entire production which is Russian; straight from the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. A great experience, despite a little problem I had, brought on by my stupidity.

I arrived at our secret free place to park(Luigi discovered it) and parked behind Luigi's car as he had arrived earlier from work. I was running late and arrived at Dorothy Chandler Pavillion about ten minutes before Cutain time. I had been rushed all day and had not eaten anything since breakfast, except for some peanuts at 4:00 P.M. I was starving, but the first act,although long, kept me riveted . As soon as the curtain came down I told Luigi where I was going and rushed out. I went to every bar and coffee stand on all three floors. "All the sandwiches sold out already" they told me. Finally I found one place where a plastic package of 4 of the teeniest wraps( tortilla wraps) I had ever seen were 'the last one'. I'll take it I said, giving her the five bucks and hurrying to find a spot to sit down. I hurriedly took out my retainers(what a pain, trying to hide this manuever from prying eyes) I bit into the first bird-sized wrap. The most disgusting taste settled on my tongue. Bleech! I took the residue from my mouth with a napkin. I ran back and told the bartender that the sandwich had been sitting out too long and my wrap was rancid. She returned my $5 immediately. By this time I was starting to feel weird and panicky, I was getting hypoglycemic. How idiotic of me to come to a 3 1/2 hour opera with no food in my stomach!
I ran downstairs and asked the attendant at the front door if there was anywhere I could get some food. Negative. Was the restaurant open below the Music Center Complex I wanted to know. He seemed to think so. I ran downstairs and into the establishment of Otto's Bar and Grill. It was empty except for a couple at the Bar. Is the Bartender around ? I asked, rushing up to them like a refugee in desperation. He's coming right back I paced around at the Bar like a moron. I had eaten there once before at the Bar where they had quickie appetizers and such. When he came back out I pounced on him. He assured me he could get some soup for me instantly. Please bring bread! I shouted after him. He brought me a bowl of soup that was so spicy I practically gagged on it. This is way too hot! He assured me the other soup would be hot too. That was not what I meant I tried to explain to him. Four more people walked into the Bar. He said he had to get someone else to help him. He called another bartender from across the restaurant. By this time I was about ready to crunch on the Bar. The other Bartender ran in the kitchen to get me some Butternut Squash Soup. I inhaled it and stuffed many slices of wonderful bread and butter into my mouth.
I also forgot to put my watch on that day so I had no idea what time it was. After I paid, I ran out of there and back to the Music Center. The attendant at the front door told me they hadn't started yet but the whole bottom floor was empty. Rather than trust the elevator I did an Olympic run up 3 flights of red carpeted stairs. Not great after eating a huge bowl of soup and bread. I reached the Loge just as they were closing the inside doors. I found my way down to my row , totally out of breath. Luigi was waiting in the aisle. Where were you!? I followed him to our seats as the houselights came down. As I passed the nice couple on the aisle , standing to let us through and whom I had spoken to earlier , I whispered, What an adventure! I settled in, out of breath but full of food, to watch the rest of Katerina's escapades. But I wondered if the couple I had just spoken to would have laughed if they had known my hypoglycemia was the adventure I spoke of. Katerina's corrupt life was much more fascinating and we all were pretty transfixed once the curtain rose again.

Peach

2002-10-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

This is from an earlier archive in June......about the night sky and nature and special connections we have with those we love............

La Luna

Wow...........Double Wow!! This evening,around 9:30 p.m., I was rounding the transition ramp to the 405 Freeway and came upon an incredible vision. Incredible because I had never seen the night sky so clear in the middle of the city. Heading north and looking out toward the Western sky to my left was one of the most beautiful Crescent moons I had ever seen. It was a perfect slice of glistening silver in a sky so cloudless and pure that the shadowed part of the face was observed as clearly defined as a full moon. The gleam of that sliver of moon was perfectly framed by a large bright white star to the top left and an equally shiny but smaller star punctuating the bottom left arc of the Crescent. As I was heading North on the freeway I kept staring at this vision and being aware that my driver concentration was being compromised and the sound of my wheels running over the lane bumps brought me back and forth to my driver responsibility. I just couldn't help it . What happened to all that dirty 'orange' L.A.crap that hangs out day and night in the air like a blurry, dirty dishwater haze? With that kind of atmosphere it's rare out here to see many clear nights unless you go all the way out to Palmdale( which is just what stargazers and eclipse watchers do.) The only other reason for the heavenly clarity is a strong breeze from the ocean that carries itself, sometimes, on an inland mission. That is exactly what happened this evening and the likes of which may not show up til the next century.

I called Luigi, as soon as I got home. He was attending a conference in Monterey.
"Did you see the moon tonight?!"
"Yes. It is so much more beautiful up here."
"But it was outstanding down here too. A wind came up and blew the haze away and the sky is perfect."
"It is so incredible up here. I went into Carmel. It is so beautiful and very European. I've never seen a town like this yet in this country."
"Did you go on the 17 Mile Drive?"
" Awesome. Have you seen those Cypress trees? They were almost extinct when Cabrillo first landed here. The people that followed liked them so much that they were planted all around this area and are all the way down to Big Sur now."
"I'm sorry I couldn't make it up there with you."
"Yes , you should have come along. When we do come up here again I'll show you that famous Cypress tree we saw in that movie "Vertigo". Remember that videotape you bought? There's a fence there now so you can't walk up to it any more."
" I should've come with you."

Famous last words. As I sit here alone with my lunar crazed brain, I sign off for the night.

"Au clair de La Lune, mon ami Pierrot.
Prete-moi ta plume, pour ecrire un mot."

Peach

2002-10-18T01:28:00.000-07:00

The Genetic Engineering of the High in Flying

The world is changing all the time. Lately Tourism is up in the country with no Terrorism at the moment, but could be down tomorrow at the click of a Time Bomb. I had always wanted to go to Bali and the rest of Indonesia. Doesn't look like a safe idea at the moment. There are about 114 Australians that are still missing who were vacationing in Bali. Many places in Africa are also reeling from war and government upheavals and guns and bombs. I had also wanted to go to Africa. It has been on my Travel list since I graduated from College. I have been very fortunate that I have already seen much of the World already. Just before I graduated, my girlfiend, Jane, talked me into going on a Airline Flight Attendant interview with her. At the time I could not figure out why someone who was college educated would want to be a waitress.

But I was in for a very pleasant surprise because I was hired and had about the most incredible few years of my entire life. I was based in London and later on in L.A. Because I had conversational knowledge of another language I was able to bid for the most incredible trips and layovers. I have been to Tahiti,Tokyo,Hong Kong,Thailand, Europe, Scandinavia,Sydney,New Guinea, Samoa, Hawaii,Iran, Israel,Greece, Lebanon, New Delhi,Argentina,Venezuela, Panama,Brazil.....and so on...... I really now believe, that in spite of the way the World has been changing and moving in very dangerous directions, there is still an incredible planet out there to discover and people are still going to want to venture out and explore. Many 'secret' and uninhabited parts of the world are no longer a mystery nor are they as serene or isolated as they once were. Even in the last few years, places like the Galapagos Islands ,which were pretty remote to most of the world only ten years ago, are now a regular tourist stop for some special Vacation and Tourist companies and organizations. It doesn't really matter as long as there are restrictions(which there are ) in preserving these wild and remarkebly sublime areas of nature. I think that anyone who is very young with College ending or even a little bit of school or business behind them, with no attachments, should take advantage of the beautiful world outside of the USA. Getting up'close and personal' in Foreign countries is even better by Train( i.e.Eurailpass) or backpacking ,cycling or even walking. I did a little of that too.

The nice thing about flying around is that I really loved the 'flying' part. Maybe I should have been a pilot like my brother. I 'discovered' airplanes when I was 15, when my Dad took me and my sister and brother to San Diego for the week-end. It was the first time I had ever been on an airplane. The only memory that seems permanently imprinted on my grey matter is the feeling of that first take-off.
As the plane picked up speed and seemingly raced to the end of the runway, I was staring out the window with my mouth hanging open and thinking how extraordinary that sensation of speed felt; and the lifting off and the pulling away from gravity-heavy earth. My juvenile mind only thought of how awesome it all was, and how it was so much better than a Roller Coaster! Airplanes are still 'awesome' to me, and the excitement and enthusiasm I felt about flying when I was working as that 'flying waitress', always carried over to my passengers. I would love to point out places , especially in L.A., that I knew so well, when we were on final approach. "Oh , look over there, there's the Santa Monica Mountains......hey there's Downtown L.A.!"

That incredible sensation of speeding and the feeling of 'lifting' at take-off stayed with me long after I had quit. It is difficult to describe that 'feeling', but it remained with me after I left the Airlines and the 'grounding' was felt physically. I don't think I have ever lost my travel bug either or all the wonderful 'color slides' that I have both in my drawer at home and in my head. You're going to laugh but I believe it's true when I say it's in my genes. My Dad wanted to be a pilot(but didn't and that's another story anyway.), my bother and first cousin are both Captains of Airlines(he married a Flight attendant and so did my brother). And I became a Flight Attendant although I am a pilot wannabe. That 'fun' feeling of liking flying(take-offs) has to be genetic! ( I think I saw something on Discovery channel about the genetic thing behind people jumping out of airplanes........no I won't do that!!)

After 9/11 I was a little plane shy like most everyone else. But I finally got up there this summer traveling to Toronto and then to New York. I still do like airplanes, despite everything, and I am the only woman I know that like's war films with airplanes in them!!

Peach
p.s.Has anyone ever heard of a film called "The High and the Mighty"? It's not on the IMDB.

Enetation (Comments) is down again. Have patience. Maybe when you come back I'll have HaloScan.

2002-10-15T00:48:00.000-07:00

Change of Fruit

This Blog will be undergoing a change to a new Design and new name. However I'm not sure exactly when,(That's the problem) and it depends on If I can convince Luigi to stay home one whole day to help me with it. But If I want to do cool things with my Blog everyday I'm going to have to learn it myself. Luigi is not going to want to be my little Blog enhancement robot to be at my beck and call everytime I need something done. He did put the photo up for me. But I would like to be able to manage that myself so that I can have a gallery of my photos or at least be able to change the front photo whenever I want to. The new name will be DianaBanana( I put a copyright on it). If you don't like it, please let the 'menu planner' know.

The last entry has created some talk about the eating habits of Americans. I saw two women on the golf course which I passed on my way to Samy's Camera(on Fairfax) Saturday afternoon. Both of them were, to be on the 'nice ' side, fat. Golf is ok if you're fat as long as you are into some other more challenging aerobic activities. "O.K Peach", you are saying, "how fat are YOU?" Well I just looked at that picture a little closer and it does look like I am a little 'saftig'. Well, first of all, sometimes you photogragh about 10 pounds heavier then you really are. I guess it's the position I'm in. But I weigh 129 pounds(usually 127-130 tops) and am a little over 5'7". I guess I'll have to get another photo. Luigi was getting tired or I would have put another one of me in front of the U.N. But hey, this is not meant to be an Ego Blog anyway.

The eating habits of Americans are unhealthy to say the least. It is the lack of discipline and the worshipping and believing in commercial claims that do them in. For instance; apparantly some people believe that if they eat or drink something nonfat they will not get obese. Have you ever stopped to wonder why people order non-fat foam with their Espresso and order along with it a nice gooey cinnamon Bun? What about a Diet Pepsi with an order of a Big Mac and Double Fries to go? When you ask for a Small soda, you actually receive one that looks like a Large. And if you order the extra large orGrande you can use the empty container to haul away the contents of your pick-up truck! What is it with the soda? It is probably one of the most unhealthy drinks out there. I love the carbonated mineral water they sell at Trader Joe's. It's called Gerolsteiner and I like it better than Pellegrino. You can add Lemonade or orange Juice or just about any other Juice and it really tastes, I think, better than ordinary sodas. I just don't know where I would be without Trader Joe's . I buy just about all my food there. Hey, for a great Breakfast, try this. A receipe from a Personal Trainer friend of mine. Separate out 3-4 egg whites, and beat it together with 3 Tblsp. of oatmeal flakes, 1 tblsp. of Buckwheat flour and a dash of cinnamon( add a drop of soy milk if it is too dry) and heat it on a griddle or frying pan (non-stick is preferable) with a little Canola Oil, until brown and you have one hell of a pancake. I love it. Especially when I want to get away from eggs or the same old cereal. I like it with banana slices or peaches or apple sauce. Or even a little apricot fruit spread. (I'm getting hungry). Anyway I think that many people think they have to starve themselves to not get fat and that simply isn't true.

I find it truly amazing that I walk around most of the day with half a million ideas in my head, overworking my synapses........not to mention the minutes wasted in the shower while I carry on a 'Seminar' and entertain ideas for the Blog. The problem with Blogging is that you have to get to the computer almost immediately or you lose it! And I can never get there right away. Yesterday I saw two scary programs on (Discovery Channel, I think) One was about the pilfering of uranium in Russia and how it finds its way through many borders and ends up in places like Pakistan and Iraq. The most frightening part of the program was the realizaton of who could get atheir hands on materials for Neutron Bombs.
The other 'scary' program was about that guy in Mesa, Az(Bob Stewart?) who was illegally making 50 caliber rifles and selling them out of his garage.(Damn! Pardon my French but those things can shoot through thick metal and probably blow your body parts to Kingdom Come from a mile away! Gee,Lord, I only need a handgun to protect myself; but what if one of those men with 50 Caliber Rifles don't like me!) Then they showed that Militia Group,(that Timothy McVey supossedly attended) from Michigan.

Well It's getting late......will have to do the 'Gun Control' issue tomorrow.

Your Friend,
Peach

2002-10-09T00:30:00.000-07:00

It's O.K to Masticate

Hey, it's alright to get a little crazy at 12:00 midnight. It's been so long since I have blogged that I forgot how.......well I take that back...Blogging is sort of like brushing your teeth.

New York was really an incredible experience. I had made some observations, like I didn't see any obese people, possibly because everybody walks. The other reason for lack of obesity is that you don't find Burger King or McDonald's on every corner. Americans just don't realize Fast Food on a regular basis puts on waist pollution, big time. Instead of the greasy fare, on almost every corner, there's usually a combo drug store/minimarket with these amazing salad bars......See, if you had those kind of choices of healthy AND delicious foods everywhere you wouldn't get fat.

On the eve of this ongoing, impending war decision debacle I'm really not in my political mode mood right now. So the Mid East and Ann Coulter will have to wait. Besides I need to get some sleep. No more of this 2:00a.m. Blogging for me.

If you're fat, after reading this entry, and you have to send me hate mail.......so be it.

Buenas Noches
Peach

2002-09-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

'Kinky' in New York

I'm sitting her at Kinkos writing on my Blog. The only time I seemed to capture for myself is when I am away from home! I feel a little flustered because this is going at the rate of 30 cents a minute. I'll just try not to make mistakes and forget about editing.

The airport seemed a bit surreal at LAX yesterday . Everything was seemingly efficient and coldly regulated. Many people were stopped by screeners and 'swiped' by that laser wand. One woman lifted up her shirt to reveal a belly ring. I was surprised that a piece of jewelry would touch off the indicator. I can't see why she was raising her shirt for any other reason. We got on the plane headed for JFK and I was pleasantly surprised to see we were on a 767 with two aisles and a lot of leg space. When we sat down I told Luigi I hadn't been on this aircraft before. He told me that the American Airlines Aircraft we were on was the same one that hit the Twin Towers. For a few minutes I didn't speak at all. I tried not to but my eyes got misty and a silent meditation begun. I kept thinking about the images of the speeding plane racing toward the tower and the huge cloud of smoke that rose into the air. After over a year those images will not go away.

On the bus ride into the city, a really nice guy took our bags and I thought put them into the luggage hold. But I wasn't paying attention because he distracted us by being very friendly. "Going into the city? Is that your wife? You have a very beautiful wife." As I sat in my seat and the bus drove off, I told Luigi that I thought that guy was too friendly and too liberal with the compliments. Nobody is friendly in New York. Right? I became paranoid and at the next stop asked the driver about our bags. He opened the hold and they were definitely there. " I guess he just wants to make sure that he gets his tip", I told Luigi.

We finally got to the Hotel at about 9:00 p.m. Luigi was tired and wanted to rest. He was fighting off a cold and this was suppose to be his annual vacation. Later on we cruised the sidewalks. We were at a great location---54th and Broadway, right across from "The David Letterman Show" and close to just about everything in Midtown Manhattan. After an uneventful meal at a singing server Diner and "I Love Lucy" on the big screen, we headed toward Central Park. At Rockefeller Center there was a small crowd of people posing for a picture, laughing and speaking in a foreign language. As we got closer we realized where they were from. Luigi started conversing with one of them in Italian. They were very warm and congratulated us on our recent marriage. Luigi said they were all there for a Memorial the next day at Gound Zero for three Italians who had died in the Towers. The Priest from their community was also there. I was trying to figure out where the heck they put the Ice Skating Rink at Rockefeller Center but I never stopped to ask anyone. Maybe I'll find out later.

I told Luigi I would meet him back at the hotel about now, so I'm going to cease typing and hope to be back at Kinkos soon. The time that I had between the two times I was out of town was extremely busy. Hope that I can stay a regular at my own Blog in the future. I am definitely getting a laptop.....so I can take my Blog anywhere.........

See ya,
Peach

2002-08-27T23:44:00.000-07:00

Blog Holiday

This Blog will be on vacation until September 4th. Please feel free to leave comments for the previous 2 or 3 entries as the Comment section is finally up and running again! Any comments on the James Carville/Ann Coulter 'comparison'? (Weekend Strategies). Great Stuff Dave!

Anyway I'll blog to you again when I return.

Have a great Holiday,
Peach

2002-08-23T17:05:00.000-07:00

Friday Frustration

All curiosity roads lead to the Internet. The time you waste may be your own. Beware of 'clockmovers', there is no reality to 'clockstoppers'. If your fingers have been tapping on the keyboard and your hand has become a permanent arch on your mouse, have you turned around to see that the clock has somehow manged to get to 2:00a.m.? But for me the time is not wasted; the time I have invested has been an education; for someone who knew zero about the care and feeding of websites less than five months ago. It is always a challenge, and a frustration. Because despite everything, I still am not a techie. So patience is my mentor and I must remember that. In time my Blog will change in direct proportion to my knowledge. Yes I feel guilty because my work has been neglected. No work equals less money. This balancing act is difficult because I don't want to be a sometime contributor to my blog. I'll just have to hone and tinker with my schedule to make it better. A schedule whereby I can get the blogging, Blog hopping and my work all in and still get to bed before midnight. That would be so cool! To accomplish my primary goal............work and have my Blog cake and eat it too!

Please be patient, the comments are still (up and) down. Please keep checking back !

Peach

2002-08-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

Sex in the Cathedral and other Matters

Three people were arrested for desecrating St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. Apparently there was a local radio program sponsoring a contest for couples who were adventurous and were 'greedy' enough for getting the highest number of premium points. The couple was to inform the radio station what sexual stunt in a public place they would perform, and the one who could be the most outragous would acquire the most points. One couple called in to inform the radio station that they were going to have sex in St Patrick's. The broadcaster followed them there, and in the middle of a very important Mass, the radio D.J. proceeded to broadcast the 'plays' as if he were commenting on a live Football Game. Another scenario of Life imitating Art. I have seen almost the same episode in an old Woody Allen film. All of them were arrested for lewd conduct. William Buckley Jr- states in this article that the couple had been only a few yards from where the much revered Bishop Sheen used to conduct Masses. Besides the desecration, this is another example of total disrespect for a place that is holy and meant for meditation and a connection with spirituality. Well, there are many 'children adults' out there who haven't got a clue.

Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has lost the primary. There has been much controversy over the funding of her campaign as a majority of it was financed by individuals of Muslim organizations. There also has been debate as to whether these individuals had any connection to terrorism. As the Aipac(Support Israel) lobby is so powerful in Washington and donates milllions, it is safe to assume that some Arab Americans do not sit well with this. Another reason for implicating Jews as usual as a scapegoat. Well that's exactly what Cynthia's father was propagating.
When asked why he thought his daughter's campaign failed he exclaimed:It's because of theJ.E.W.S! Well Mr. McKinney, if you keep this outrageous stupidity up, you are definitely contributing to more hatred of the Jews by Blacks. Besides being a total lie your encouragement of Rascism will only dampen your daughter's future prospects worse than they already are. She will lose Jewish Democrats as well. What I find so inane is that the truth is, that Jews have a persecution commonality with African Americans. Many were long time supporters of the Civil Rights Movement and were killed for their support of and standing alongside their Black brothers. MUSH to you Mr. McKinney!!

Peach

2002-08-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

Weekend Strategies

Luigi gave me three options for what movie we were going to see in the last minute Saturday Night. He got his info from the L.A. Weekly. We can see Merci pour La Chocolat, or an Italian movie about unfaithful husbands or the one with Jennifer Anniston. We were running very late so basically the choice was made for us. The closest theater was the French movie. I scarfed down some cold chicken and avocado, brushed my teeth and raced down to my car. ( wonderful on a full stomach)

We arrived on time. Luigi got to the ticket window and fished around in his wallet for the Lammele passes. He was fishing around so long the ticket guy said he was going to take the next person and the next . He didn't find the passes so he shelled out $9.00 apiece for the movie. We don't go that often and usually we have some kind of passes from Luigi's employee benefits. I swear, paying $9.00 for a movie is outrageous. Especially if you don't like the movie.

The movie was kind of a mystery, but very slow and somewhat tedious. At some level, thinking back, it was also predictable. The only outstanding feature of the movie was the acting. Isabelle Huppert is usually always in top form. The other notable was the young actress who played the 18 year old daughter. She looked like a young Ava Gardner. The story is about a wierd, female C.E.O of a chocolate company in Switzerland who is spiking her young stepson's hot cocoa with a sleeping drug. And about a girl who may really be the daughter in that family and not the son as they may have been switched at birth. Get it? Enough tedium................the movie had potential but never quite lived up to the promise. I think in this case you really feel the $9.00 each. Ouch! The Italian movie or The Good Girl were probably better.

Sunday we went to Costco. We looked longingly at a Panasonic flat screen, beautiful resolution, 32 or 37 inch T.V. for $1500. Maybe next time. (A lot of next times) I usually hang out for a long time in the book, and DVD section. I was looking at a photograhy retrospective of L.A. then and now, when I noticed Luigi had picked up a copy of Slander by Ann Coulter.(Oh no....not her again!) "I thought you didn't like her?" Luigi assured me that in fact he did not. He was just curious about what she had to say. So was I, so I began to skim through it but managed to end up on the first page. The end of the second paragraph read something like this: It's all the Liberals fault. Please, what kind of factual gathering is that? Making generalizations like that ain't kosher in scholarly pursuits. You know I always said she was attractive and that was why the Republican Males liked her and for nothing else. (They have absolutely told me in my comment section that it helps, but that it is for her wonderous enlightening writing and her many honors as well) But I must say when I saw her picture, she looked very ordinary to me. There are so many women out there, celebrity or not, who make her look so plain in comparison. Luigi said he thought she was ugly. He said that if he saw her 'au naturel' he would then decide her worthiness. "What the hell does that mean?" I said. "Well, there's nothing else about her that's worthy, so that's the only thing left." Well those are Luigi's unique thoughts. But I was surprised becuase Luigi is a Gentleman and it sounded so raw. But then again he must really dislike Ann Coulter for speaking like that. I told him someone had said that JFK Jr. had stated that she was one of the 20 most fascinating women in politics. Luigi repled:" that's probably because he slept with her."...........Well enough of Ann Coulter bashing( I don't feel guilty.....she does it to us liberals as clearly stated above)

I was happy over at the DVD's, picking up about 10 of them and showing them to Luigi. I was only going home with one and decided on Sunny Dayz a film about surfing with Sunny Garcia, the world surfing champion. I love surf movies. Luigi wheeled the cart up to the long lines at the registers. "What's that?" I asked picking up two video games. Hmmmm.........Blow up the Aliens and Kill the Green Army. Heck, I don't remember the real names of the Video Games but the content probably matches those names well anyway. I told him no more of that and said that I wouldn't even get the DVD. I cheated though, because I hid the DVD behind my back and didn't let it materialize until we got to the check- out stand. He was not too happy about it. But I told him he didn't need those stupid video games anyway. I was elated to have my surf film . I'll admit that was a very juvenile trick to pull. But hey, there's always next time.

Word to the wise, don't see Merci Pour La Chocolat. If you have any comments about The Good Girl or any recent film, let me know. Anyone see Possession this week-end?

p.s. For some reason Enetation (Comment Section) is down tonight. I hope it will be up again tomorrow. Please e-mail me if the comments are still out when you read this.

Peach

2002-08-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

Blogger Con 2002 and Surf Culture in Laguna Beach CA

Sunday we headed down to Laguna Beach to meet up with some fellow Blog Geeks for a 'BloggerCon' dinner meeting arranged by KMRZoom,Kevin of Dilittante fame. I have been a 'regular' at his green martini Blog for a few months now, and I was looking forward to meeting him and all the others who frequented his website and stayed to leave comments. We had spent the entire afternoon traipsing through the Laguna Art Festivals(Festival of the Arts), strolling and taking in all that Laguna had to offer in as much time as we could before our 5:00 meeting time.

Around 4:00 or so we headed over to the Laguna Beach Art Museum.......very convienent as it was right next to Las Brisas. Luigi changed his mind about going into the Exhibits when he learned it was a special exhibit called "Surf Culture". He's not from California and could care less about surfing and said after looking through the Museum Book Store, he would meet me over at Las Brisas at the appointed time. I could not let this exhibit pass me by. After all I am from Southern California and grew up with surfing all around me. Hailing from Santa Monica and living very close to the coast my whole life, I had always either had boyfriends or friends who surfed; and saw many of the new and old Surf documetaries that I managed to find playing in some museums, art houses or colleges. With all this fascination with surfing, I now wonder why I never learned how to do it.
The museum docent who took my ticket told me the exhibit would probably take about an hour and was on three levels. She never told me which level was to be viewed first. So I ended up doing it backwards by viewing the first floor first which seemed the logical thing to do.

Most of the exhibit was a display of old and new surfboards;how they were made, video documentaries and 'surf art'. There were pictures of Andy Warhol and Orson Welles.( Don't ask... I'm not sure why they were there except Andy Warhol was invloved with California Art Culture in the 60's). I really found most of it very interesting;especially the surf video documentaries which I spent the most time on. I always marvel at the size of those monster waves and comparative small figures of surfers trying to navigate them. It is not only a sport in my definiton, but a true art form. All athletes have a certain style and grace that is fascinating to watch and I find that so relative in watching surfers do their stuff. They make the gliding through the water seem so effortless as though they could do it in their sleep. A Huge wave starts forming and lifting to 15 or even 20 feet. The white foam starts curling at the top of the wave as it starts breaking toward shore. The surfer positions his board right below the crest and seems to glide through the center of the wall of water, almost sometimes, seemingly defying gravity. He becomes one with his surfboard as he rides the white tipped wave, always just ahead of the breaking crest moving toward the beach. Have you ever seen a film or photograph of a surfer who actually gets right underneath the curl of the wave so that he is inside the 'tunnel' ?(the space inside the top part of the wave as it curls over and touches the water) It is truly an incredibly awesome sight. If he manages to 'hang' all his toes over the point edge of his board you could say: "Hang 10 Dude!"

One of the most interesting and disturbing of the exhibits was a display of moving mannikins dressed in Hawaiian Hula dress. There were about 25 or 30 of these Hula Girls with mechanized torsos that would move and sway their hips to the music. When you first walk in, you would think it was just a bunch of life-size moving hula dolls. As you got closer you realize that they are all holding weapons . Most of them are automatic weapons used in war. Some were holding knives. I looked closer at their faces. It gave me an erie sensation to look at them, because it looked as though they were staring right back at me,and they had strange and very disturbing expressions on their faces. They were Asian women and I believe they were Vietnamese. That's how it appeared. As I walked around the entire exhibit to the other side I was confronted with some of the women who looked like they had gone through some war themselves. One of the 'moving mannikins' had a very realistic black eye, swollen and purple. Another moving hula girl had her face hidden behind messy and tousled hair as though she had been in a fight. There was no explanation for the exhibit, only the name of the artist which I have forgotton. This particular 'art display' was a bit unnerving and I'm not sure exactly what he was trying to say. Anti-war maybe, but with hula women?

Going downstairs was actually where the first part of the exhibit began, displaying the history of surfing;from 19th Century Sandwich Islands native surfers to Duke Kahanamoku(sp),to modern day surfers. I finished "Surf Culture" just before 5:00 and left to meet everyone at Las Brisas.

As I was walking over there, I thought maybe I was a bit too casual in my knee short capris and sleeveless t-shirt and no make-up.( I don't wear makeup on week-ends. Because the rest of the week I have to look professional with suits and pantyhose and make-up. And it's so nice to feel 'free'on week-ends)) I brought a change of clothes but it was in the car. Luigi was waiting outside and I pretended to pick him up. We walked inside and almost recognized Kevin right away from his Blog photo. He was dressed very nicely in a red silk shirt and levis. As a woman I don't like being mistakenly overdressed or underdressed but Kevin assured me it was o.k. He had to give up the table by the window with the beautiful view of the ocean, becuase that table had been reserved for eight people. It turned out that we were the only ones who showed up. But we were still given a great table, just for the three of us. Kevin was a great host and we really enjoyed having dinner with him. I just felt badly that he had gone through all the efforts of getting this together and then no one showing up . One of my other Blog friends in Tennessee said a similar thing happened at their Blog Meetup. Well, whoever told me there are only flaky people in California is wrong. It exists all over.

Hope you don't run into any freaky hula mannikins out there,
Peach

2002-07-20T00:31:00.000-07:00

International Blog Meetup Day in Santa Monica

Yesterday I headed on over to the Brittania Pub on Santa Monica Blvd., just steps away from the Promenade. I was on my way to meet other Bloggers for the International Meetup Day. An event that was happening all over the world in about 200 cities.

I had checked out a few websites from a few comments made to a specific Blog I visited. I was astounded to find out a lot of them were born around 1980. I kept thinking all the way from the parking structure that if all the bloggers turned out to be 21 or 22 I was going to turn around and leave and go for a walk on the Promenade, and forget about the Meetup altogether. As I walked in the door some people were hanging out at the bar and at the Pool Table. There was one table surrounded by early 20 something kids. Hmm...was that the Blogger Table? I thought better to make sure before exiting the Pub. So I walked over to the bar and asked one of the bartenders where the Meeting was. Up there he said, pointing to the stairs leading to the second floor. O.K. So that table by the entry door was not it. Walked up the stairs to find one table surrounded by lovely geeks of all ages! Wonderful news......I felt instantly at home. Introductions all around. The evening was a lot of fun and there was an instant camaraderie and a connected feeling of Blogger insights, talk and understandings and shared computer nonsense. It was really cool. I met some very interesting people. I didn't get a chance to talk to everyone, just a few. There was Joe (37) who was sitting next to me. I explained to him of my trepidation of coming to Meetup. He smiled and told me of a meeting he had gone to where someone had said to him,upon finding out his age,Man, you're old dude! Nice. Another Blogger was Judy who is a journalist for the L.A. Weekly.......great Newspaper that you can pick up just about anywhere. For the most part it has better reviews and editorials than the L.A. Times. Outstanding Movie Reviews and synopses of current movies. Just about any movie you want to see, from retrospectives to current blockbusters to museum flicks. Luigi and I always pick one up before going to see any film. I also had a chance to speak to Leonard ( he was 21 but I liked him any way! Hey, I just didn't want to be with only 21 year olds) He kept telling everyone he was a Janitor........Hey, man, those people are called Industrial Engineers He actually works at a University here in L.A. in the ISD. As a matter of fact Luigi knows him because he works there also and showed me an e-mail from him when I got home last night. Small world.
Andre got up to go to the john and everyone pounced on his digital camera. Ryan opened up his mouth wide and shot a picture of his uvula(sp).
Next someone took a picture of Joe's ear. I didn't know it was Andre's purloined camera but I did so want to be part of the action.....so I stuck my tongue out at the lens. I wonder what Andre said when he arrived home to review his 'shots'? It will be interesting if he posts any of it. If he does you'll see a ghastly picture of Peach with her tongue hanging out. I also spoke with Chris who runs a blog about safer sex. He has tons of visitors and his blog is 'circulated' at many schools and organizations. He is around 35 but looks around 21. When he found out about my 21 phobia he told me he was 21.
The following is a list of attendees at the First International Blogger Meeetup Day in Santa Monica:

Judith Lewis
Chris Filkins
Ryan Gantz
Andre Torrez He has 2 Blogs Andre Torrez
Philip Fibiger
Stepahnie Losi
Martin Devon
Jonah Manning He also has 2 Blogs Jonah Manning
Leonard Lin
Joe Utsler

Well, I really hope I got everything right or I will probably hear it from them on my comments. All the names and Blogs were written on a paper napkin. I also forgot to ask if someone does not have a www in front of their URL do I put it there anyway?..........Sorry, remember I'm computer Illiterate. If the link doesn't work I'll have to come back and edit it........that of course will be when Blogger won't let me post again!!
Thanks to Joe who showed me that nifty trick on how to make links. I can't believe that button has been in my posting page the whole time and I didn't know what the heck it was.

Hope to hear from you guys soon. I will be visiting your Blogs. And for the rest of you don't miss the next Blogger Meetup in your Area! And now we return you to our regularly scheduled program.................The Adventures of Encrypto: Wonder Blogger Destroyer and his Dog Linux

Love,
Peach

2002-07-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

Blatant Spinning

What is it with Ann Coulter? And why on two different websites so far, have I found her 'presence'? She certainly isn't the brightest of jounalists and has written a tome which from what I understnd is Democrat Bashing and nothing else. I can understand if you're a male Republican that you find her cute. But hey, that's it! I am sure there are other worthy Republican women who deserve your accolades. Why doesn't anyone ever talk about Dubba's Mom.......Barbara Bush? Now there is a worthy human with good intentions. My nephew's elementary school was named after her. The school is in Texas so you know that the name is pretty uniformly accepted. My little nephew came home so enthralled because they had a mock election just before November of 2000. He told his Dad that they were so excited about voting for Bush at school and that he wanted to know when his Dad was going to vote. Not wanting to let poor Ryan down too hard he gracefully and gently told him that he was going to be voting for Gore. Oh horrors. Poor Ryan was devastated. I suppose that was the first time he found out his Dad was a Democrat. When You're surrounded by Republicans and you find out that your Dad is on the opposing team, it can be very traumatic for a seven year old.

Methinks I have gone off on a tangent. Ann Coulter trashes Democrats. There is nothing else in her repatoire that defines any arguments with true facts to back it up. If a Republican fouls, it is either not 'true' or there is some underlying excuse why an incident occurred.
When she is interviewed on camera she comes across as chatty and 'programmed'. I just don't get it why Republican Men praise her as though she was some kind of Pulitzer Prize genius. I can sit with the O'Reilly factor for a while and eventually agree with something he has said even though he really is a spinner. (Jeanne Garofolo really laid it into him when he interviewed her). I respect Bill Bennett because of his moral issues , I admire Bill Buckley for his erudite views. These people deserve my consideration. For the favored Ann who lights up the Republican Man's dream, I say it ain't Politics guys! Go ahead and prove to me what an awesome , scholarly , enlightened woman she really is. Or are you looking at her crossing and uncrossing her legs? ( Tee hee, that's what Doug Wiken has to say about what she CAN do. )
Show me a woman with long blond hair and nice legs and the content is FORGOTTON. Heck, do you think more people might revere Barbara Bush a tad more if she were young and had great gams? Puuh--lease! It is the Truth.

Gotta go. My dinner is calling me!
Peach

2002-07-13T01:21:00.000-07:00

Music to my Ears

I love you Beethoven! I cannot describe the moving, swaying, romantic rousing that has sent my soul to the sky. Your playful and joyful notes bouncing all over existence in my small keyboard world..... I am so in awe of you. Why can I not go back in time so that I may go to the Premiere of your Ninth Symphony? It must have been exciting...your last concert. But now I am listening to your Second Symphony, which leaves me so transfixed, I am silent and dripping in awe. And now a moment later my head tosses from side to side, as I feel my long hair brushing against my shoulders in a warm, comforting and sensual awareness that I don't get as much anywhere as I do from music. The Second Symphony is so intense and gorgeous in a deep velvety and rythmic way that floats me up and over the world in dreams and calm ecstasy. I could have fallen in love with you.....Herr Ludwig....you do such incredible things to my soul! I would have been yours at the touch of fingers on the piano...I would have been so easy to fall into any of your whims...That is how powerful the mixture of your precious notes scan in and out of my mind and ears and being. How much beauty can one human bring in to this planet and still have that same intensity it did over 200 years ago? No one should ever leave this world without knowing that exquisite state of purity, that rapture that you create ,that incredible, indescribable sensation that seems to capture all those little endorphins and make them swirl around in my body , seemingly forever. As your music plays it does seem to go on forever...........My daily stresses, my little nothing annoyances........there is nothing that can come between you and I , Ludwig...as the music plays..........I wait for you .........I close my eyes, I feel my body floating over the waves of sound.........I want to stay here in the darkened room.......the playful notes return and now I am dancing with you down by the swiftly moving stream and the greenest meadow in the Weinerwald. When something or someone can move you down to your soul it has to be love. I cannot fathom living on this Earth without Beethoven, without any Classical music. With all that is going on , it is a necessity for me to lock away in this tight little world of my hypnotic state..........not wanting to come out....not now.........not for a long time.............My guest is still here and I intend on spending all night with him............ I want to await the sunrise with this same sense of musical rapture and pleasurable sensations........."Gute Nacht Mein Herr...Ich warte noch,einmal mer fur dich schon wieder morgen fruh "......................

Gute Nacht,
Peach

2002-07-11T00:37:00.000-07:00

Customer Service

Have you picked up the phone lately to call a business and heard these much anticipated words:
"Thank-you for Calling ACME Blow Torches. Your call is valuable to us. Please stay on the line and a customer service representative will be with you shortly." a wait of approximatly 2 minutes and then....
"Thank-you for holding. A customer service representative will be with you shortly. Thank-you for your patience."
two minutes of a Johann Strauss Waltz, or some 40's American Swing or maybe you might even hear Billy Idol(which wouldn't be so bad...heck I dance in my chair to White Wedding)
"Thank-you for holding. A customer service representative will be with you shortly. Thank-you for your patience."

Now after about 20 minutes of this, even Billy Idol couldn't make you feel any better. This kind of mania has been happening a lot to me lately. And the two most hated words in the English language for me now are'Customer Service'. I have been cool; I have been kind; I have maintained my dignity and integrity . But last Monday at the Post Office I totally lost it.

I will get to the Post Office fiasco. But I must inform you what else was going on in the last week or so. We rented a U-Haul Van to move stuff out of one apartment to move most of it to Storage. The next day we walked into the U-Haul Office at the designated pick-up time of 4:00 P.M. When Luigi was all finished with the forms, the woman (Michelle) behind the counter gave Luigi a very long receipt with a lot of printed info. It was a contract she said. As soon as he finished signing the receipt he noticed that the return time was 7:00A.M. the next day. "What is this? We have to turn the Van back at seven in the morning?!" "Yes" Michelle says sweetly. "That's when the next reservation comes in." We proceeded to explain to her that no one had told us we had to have it back by 7:00 when we made the reservation on the phone. A'slight' detail that a customer should know. It really was poor service, you see, but obviously Michelle didn't see the the common sense of it. In her little brain it did not occur to her that had we known about the time limit we would have called somewhere else. Eventually she told us to call her supervisor in the morning. When I got home I called back and told her that the whole thing was insane and that it was totally unfair to us. She finally agreed(no supervisor necessary apparantly) but insisted Luigi come back to sign a new contract. Oh great....we have so much time to kill, we would love to come back in this traffic to sign another contract.

I figured out the other day why there is so much widespread inefficiency and irresponsibility when it comes to---ug!---Customer Service. It's very simple. Most of these people are making minimum wage and have very little, if any, training. It just costs the businesses too much money to train when there is turnover constantly. And they don't ever fire anyone because of lawsuits.

Anyway on Monday afternoon I went to the Post Office(no minimum wage here) to find out what had happened to my overnight Express Letter I had mailed on Saturday. The office I sent it to never received it and Post Office Tracking Service claimed it had been delivered at 5:00A.M. in the morning? There was a very long line, so I asked the person in front of me to save my place and walked up to speak to one of the Postal Clerks.(Actually the same clerk who had helped me with the Express Mail on Saturday) I had been advised to give the tracking notice to someone to research in the back on their computer. I gave her the notice and she said something about someone would be checking it. I hung out at the counter for about 5 minutes. "Is someone going to take care of this?" I asked. She said someone would be with me 'shortly'(don't you just love that word?). I waited another 5 minutes. I asked her again. "Would it be better if I waited in line again?" . She caught someone's attention but the help wasn't for me. So I continued to wait at the counter as she had indicated to me not to go back in line. In the meantime a very irritated and angry s.o.b. in line starts yelling at me and telling me I am holding up the line and he is just trying to buy stamps and not Express Mail. I tried to explain I had only handed in my form and was waiting. I do not know whether he thought I cut in line to get an Express Package mailed or what. But he was so hostile and nasty to me , you would have thought I had gone over there and smacked his face. Time was moving and I wasn't! I was getting very peturbed at this woman and finally asked to see her supervisor........another ten minutes. By this time the line could have been around the block and been finished for all the time I was standing there. When theSupervisor finally made her entrance I explained that the postal clerk had written 2nd day instead of Overnight and that she had kept me waiting. You would assume that this was a simple matter but the Supervisor didn't get it. At some point I really did lose it and said in an angry voice that all I wanted was to have my package delivered on time and why did I spend $13.65 when I could have done the 2-day Priority Mail.
"Don't raise your voice to me" she said very calmly. I was so frustrated that I walked out of there even though I heard her mention to the clerk to refund my money. I had been waiting there for 45 minutes.
That week was not a good one for me. The cleaners lost my favorite pair of black capris and didn't have a clue as to why they were lost. People with minimum wage?..........nothing against it.........I just wish they had more responsibility and been taught better manners, no matter what they earn.

Peach

2002-07-09T23:32:00.000-07:00

Justin, This Bud's for You

The following is a quote from Writers.Com and ties in to the comment made by Justin to the "Brainless at 2:00A.M." entry to my Blog.

"Be a scribe! Your body will be sleek, your hand will be soft....You are one who sits grandly in your house;your servants answer speedily; beer is poured copiously; all who see you rejoice in good cheer. Happy is the heart of him who writes; he is young each day."
-Ptahotpe, c. 2350 B.C.

2002-07-07T02:38:00.000-07:00

Brainless at 2:00A.M.

Can anyone tell me where my brains went? Especially the part that has to do with blogging. Doesn't anyone out there ever run into a wall? I am being bombarded daily with tons of ideas and thoughts. Wild conversations with myself and others.........and all of it running around my head at a million miles an hour. And then I come home and something interrupts my thoughts with 'things to do'. Then I get prepared to sit down at my computer and I think "I'll have to think about this first"................And then .........and then what?........not sure. And now I feel like blogging but it's after 2:30 A.M. and I'm really tired! I'll try tomorrow.

Pleasant Dreams,
Peach

2002-06-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Charming , renovated house(old house),recently landscaped(couple of bushes and some flowers). Beautiful French Windows and outdoor Patio and Coutyard(no backyard). Guest House and 3/4 bath(converted Garage); three bedroom and a Den(not very big). Full(what does that mean?) 2 and 1/2 Bath. 1926 sq. ft. Very Bright. Three offers already in!! Asking Price: $729,000. Open House this Saturday or call : Exceptional Value Realty today.
p.s. This is not in Beverly Hills . It's in a modest, middle -class neighborhood.

Anybody want to buy a house?

2002-06-25T02:30:00.000-07:00

Peach's Projects

I feel so relaxed and clean........what else? A shower. A nice, long, warm shower on a lukewarm/cool, breezy summer night. My nightgown feels so light , and my bed so inviting......I'm really ready to roll out.............but.......but I wanted to talk about future projects for this website....something I can sleep on, with many ideas sprouting; hopefully remembered in the morning.

Project One: A movie list like AFI's 100 top movies of all time. But it will be Peach's picks with recommendations and not 100.
Project Two: Convincing Luigi to borrow his laptop in September when we go to Italy, because I would like to do 'Stories form the road" like Jay
Project Three: Book Reviews(This is going to take a while because......of Project Four.)
Project Four: List all the books I have wanted to read that have been collecting dust on the little Headboard shelf above my bed and stacked next to my nightstand.
Project Five: Do a 'DietaryAnalysis'; wierd food combinations of what Americans eat.(suggested by Sarah: after doing a long comment on her blog, she suggested: "Why not put that as a subject for your Blog")
Project Six: (and most important!) Update and Clean up this website with 100% help of my Techie cousin.

I'll start with Project Four:

BOOK AUTHOR

GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL The Fates of Human Societies- JARED DIAMOND
GREEN DOLPHIN STREET- ELIZABETH GOUDGE
ANIMAL STORIES- JAMES HERRIOT
WEST WITH THE NIGHT- BERYL MARKHAM
THE GREATEST GENERATION - TOM BROKAW
MADE IN AMERICA- BILL BRYSON
WRITING FOR YOUR LIFE- DEENA METZGER
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY- OSCAR WILDE
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS- JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR- THOMAS J STANLEY/WILLIAM D DANKO
REASON FOR HOPE A Spiritual Journey- JANE GOODALL
LOVE, MARRIAGE AND MONEY- GAIL LIBERMAN/ALAN LAVINE
GOD WAS NOT IN THE FIRE- DANIEL GORDIS
A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SENSES - DIANE ACKERMAN
THE FOUR AGREEMENTS- DON MIGUEL ORTIZ
LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET- RAINER MARIA RILKE
BIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI- PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA
EXODUS 1947 The Ship That Launched a Nation- RUTH GRUBER
DEBT PROOF LIVING- MARY HUNT
THE SUN, THE GENOME AND THE INTERNET- FREEMAN J DYSON
WHAT WENT WRONG? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response- BERNARD LEWIS

This is a bit scary. This is just a partial list. There are more books I want to read. It appears that if I were to live to 95 I might not be able to read everything I wanted to..........should have started sooner. This initial list is a combination of books I never got a chance to read in High School; Books I picked up at Borders and a few I just 'ran across'. One I bought at Amazon used and wondered why it was so cheap ($2). It turned out to be a first publication from 1945 in excellent condition . (I guess its not quite an antique). One I stole from Luigi(The internet one).

Let me know if you have read any of them and what you thought in my Comment Section. It's after 2 am.........Sammie (my cat) is waiting for me to go to sleep so he can sleep on my feet.

Buenas Noches,
Peach

2002-06-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

Mid East II

I called my girlfriend last night and her husband answered. He said she was taking a nap and he would let her know that I called. He said he was feeding the baby and in fact I could hear him in the background. Normally my friend's husband is very friendly and gregarious. His voice sounded different and he appeared to be unusually sullen and quiet. I asked him if everything was o.k. and he embarked on what appeared to be an explanation of his family. I still wasn't getting it until he said"He was the Bus Driver." "The Bus Driver?" I asked. He then proceeded to tell me that a cousin of his was the Bus Driver who was driving the Bus in Jeruselum that was blown up the day before. "The family had just gone to a wedding the day before" he said, "And the next day they all had to go to a Funeral." " I'm so sorry " was I all I could say.

When my girlfriend first met him she told me he was an Israeli. They have been married now for three years. I really love both of them.......they are a great couple. Harriet and I have been friends now for several years. Luigi and I have gotton together with them a few times. That Six Degrees of Separation or whatever that phenomenon is, has really brought this close to home for me. Hearing about the latest act of terrorist violence in the Mid East just a couple of days ago, and then to actually speak to a friend that had family on that doomed bus. He also mentioned to me that his mother and father "live 200 feet from that Bus stop where it was blown up."

I'm not sure what to say any more at this time. All this violence is making me sick. I'm also sick of the UN; sick of Politicians, ..........sick of the whole thing........do I meditate?....do I pray?....will this ever end....? NO! I am not going to boycott Starbuck's!!! Just because they're Jews!...There are good Muslims out there; but this specific Muslim Organization wants Starbuck's boycotted. If that isn't anti-semitism.............
All political discussions seem pointless to me right now. Just that it boils down to hate and more of it. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow........

Peach

2002-06-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

The Middle East and You

This morning I made a statement on someone's Comment Section about how I felt about his latest entry to his Weblog.

He was speaking of the Israelis storming again into Jenin and other towns with their military and tanks. I'm not sure exactly what I wrote, but it was about the continued violence. He answered me that he agreed that the terrorism had to stop. But he said moving in with tanks would not stop the terrorist bombings. I would like to respond to Anthony and to address the problem on this entry.

To start with, most Americans know very little of the history of this conflict. And I can tell you that it goes back more than 50 or so years ago and way before Israel became a Country. As far as learning more about it , there is an excellent book entitled "What Went Wrong", by Bernard Lewis. He is a scholar and professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. There are a lot of other well written books out there to read.(Meg, V.P at Blogger had a great list but unfortunately I forgot her website) Amazon has all of them.

Aside from the history , the current facts are these. Tanks will not stop the bombings. What they will do is to try to curtail the terrorist groups by getting to the leaders and jailing them. The Israelis have done house to house searches in the settlements to rout out their leaders. Of course the Palestinians feel invaded. But there is no question that their terrorist leaders are strongly supported. You can tell just from the grafitti in the settlements. There are pipe bombings ,rocks and bottles thrown at the soilders all the time. The Israeli soilders are not out there to mass destroy the Palestinian population contrary to what CNN has told you. Do you always trust the media? I do hope you don't. If I were a soilder and someone was less than a few yards from me and was about to throw a Molotov Cocktail at me what would I do? Should I let him kill me? For those of you who have never been in a war, ask a grandfather or anyone who is a war veteran, what it's like. It's easy for all of us to sit on our Ivory thrones and make judgements from our cushy existence.

I am sorry, but it really ticks me off when all the focus in the news is about how many palestinians were killed by Israelis. You must FIRST be informed with the facts before you decide what's going on. Think if we had more 9/11's, which will probably happen again. Let's say we had about one a week. Given the size of this country it may still not affect us though. But lets' just say we sit back and just be scared when the next Bombing or terrorist act occurs. We listen and pray and hope that it will end. What if it doesn't end? What if it just keeps on going. One day you wake up and two of your cousins are killed in Iowa because of a terror attack. You cry, you mourn, you pray. You go to the funeral and your relatives tell you how awful the inside of the bus looked. They explain to you of the pictures of the gore and blood and body parts strewn in the street and in the bus. But you must go on. Life goes on. The next week you hear in the news that they toppled a highrise in downtown Chicago. Many,many lives are lost. But still we must do nothing. No you say? We are expecting the Israelis to sit on their buts and do absolutely nothing. Just imagine there are no more checkpoints at the borders. Israelis pull out of every where. They no longer try to rout out the terrorists. What is so difficult for most of us to understand is that the situation as bad as it is would get much worse.

I do believe that Palestine has to have a country of it's own and there are many Israelis who want that as well. They believe there should be no more new settlements and that some may have to be shut down. But this, unfortunately will not stop the terrorism. You have to understand what is going on and why the terrorism would continue. It starts with innocent young children who are brainwashed to believe that Israelis are the devil and must be washed from the face of the earth. It is a known fact that the hatred is propagated in the schools and in their textbooks. That is why children grow up wanting to become suicide bombers. They believe that Allah has called for it and they will go to heaven for these deeds. Nowhere is it written in the Koran about genocide or killing. You can ask any Muslim you know . Hatred can be stopped. But I wish I could be more optimistic. Whatever the circumstances were 100 years ago or what the history of that region tells us, we have to know that if a child is taught hatred of a people, an ethnic group or a nation, then the bloodshed will continue. There is no other outcome.

I have often thought I would like to see an exchange of letters and correspondence between children of different nations to understand each other better, and to bring them all closer to each other. I know this exists because I went to an elemetary school that had a correspondence program with a sister city in Japan. I am Miss Pollyanna here, but I wish there would be such a program between the Israeli and the Palestinian children. Right now that's an impossibility. These children will become the adults of tomorrow and will determine the future of this world.

There was an academy nominated documentary film about an American Journalist who got a group of Israeli and Palestinian children together. It was an amazing piece of journalism and was the most astonishing when they finally got them all together for one long day playdate. The saddest and most disheartening part was the sadness of one of the Palestinian boys who cried at the end of the day because he would not see his new friends again.

I once heard a Palestinian Jounalist speak on the radio. He said he had hoped his little eight year old son would eventually exchange e-mails with an Israeli boy. He said that his hope vanished when his little boy came to him one day and said he wanted a gun to kill Israelis.

I welcome your comments and ideas,
Peach

2002-06-19T01:53:00.000-07:00

Tee-Shirt Unification

Damn busy life.........hate neglecting my blog! Short to the rescue.....shorter blogs=more blogs more often? I'll take a short blog and a Blog of Note to go..............I Wish! Anyone out there? Do you know I'm even here? One lonely blogger.....and my poor undetected Weblog.

If any of you were watching the World Cup "8th of finals"(Round of Sixteen) between Italy and Korea, you know that Italy is out and Korea will go on to the Quarter Finals. Very depressing for the Italians and Italia Fans and Luigi of course. He was a bit glum this morning after viewing the video he had taped at 4:00 a.m. He always watches it on Univision because he thinks the coverage is better than ESPN; and they show the ceremonious playing of the country's national Anthems with each player standing behind a little Korean child.Very impressive and emotional...reminds me of the Olympics.(The World Cup Matches are being held in Korea and Japan.) I used to get that emotional for the Lakers(I'm not sure what happened with that.) What is truly amazing is that the U.S. has made it to the Quarter Finals! Something that has not happened in the last 70 years. I have become a fan! Hope that the U.S.'s success so far will begin to drum up more interest here, in the game that was banned in Renaissance Florence as being too violent. Watch the awesome 'head' plays. I saw one player aim the ball from his head directly into the net for a goal!

In the opening Anthem ceremony the camera scanned the entire stadium.............totally unreal sight. Every person in that stadium was wearing a red T-shirt (Red and White--Korean colors). There were probably few exceptions because all you could see was a sea of red and no other disruptions of color. How do you get a crowd of almost 65,000 to all don the sameT-shirt? How?! It pretty much knocked me for a loop staring at that huge 'red' stadium. If there were ads on the radio and t.v. tomorrow to let everyone know that they all should show up for the next Dodger Game in Chavez Ravine with Blue T-shirts, I don't think it would happen.........Sure there would be many people who would show up in blue....but for sure not all of them! What makes those Koreans so unified? What the heck makes almost every single last one of them wear a Red T-shirt to that Soccer Match? I can tell you that that solid red stadium must have been intimidating as hell to the Italian team.

Soccer has become a compelling contender in sports and has a strong loyal following in almost every major country in the world including the Continents of Africa, Asia,Europe, South America and the MId-East.........Maybe eventually in this country.

But I sure wish I knew how they got the entire Stadium to turn red like that............what loyalty!!!

Stay Tuned,
Peach

2002-06-13T01:25:00.000-07:00

La Luna

2002-06-10T14:48:00.000-07:00

Mutually Time Zone Friendly

It has been hectic AGAIN! Just got back from a wedding in San Diego. CONGRATULATIONS MELISSA AND JASON!!!!!!! I am going to display an e-mail I just sent to a friend as a brief statement , just so my blog does not go idle......and will be back later this week for more 'content'.

Hi_____,

What is Hotmail Messenger?
I have been busy as usual. June will be the worst. There is a wedding in San Diego(whole week-end); my cousin's graduation from High School;My brother and sister and little nephew coming in from out of town this week to celebrate Father's Day altogether;working projects off my desk and clearing out contents of apartment and moving them to storage before June 31st.

I agree with you that I don't understand how people have time to blog on a daily basis. It does take thought and reflection and time. I can't do that on a 'drive through' basis. I am self-employed but can soon become unemployed if I don't kick my own But!!!!! I must work first BEFORE I blog. But yes, there does seem to be so few of daily blogs with any real substance. My present contacts excluded off course(from my limited surfing anyway----maybe three or four---e-mailing my admiration for their exemplary blogs.) A lot of amazing tech and graphic stuff out there though.

I messed up on the Kodak site and as you know I am not computer literate. Apparantly the site times out after an hour or so. But I did manage to get a photo of my foot on my blog. That was the only picture of 'me' on the roll as I was the one who shot the roll. My cousin who is only (almost) 18 years old promised to beef up my website as he knows a lot about computers. I'm going to get him to scan some photos on my blog including photos of myself.

I would like to chat with you also. I'm sure that we can find an opportunity to chat that's mutually time zone friendly.

Your Cyber Friend,
Peach

2002-06-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

My Foot

2002-06-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Bunch of Stuff

I have unfortunately had a 'hollow' mind this week or maybe my brain was in a vacuum. Either or, I have been locked into some kind of inertia that would not let me move forward. I really wanted to write; with many ideas in my mind and a load of events that happened over the last week that would not translate into fingers flying over the keyboard. I think as I sit here that I'm just tired. Maybe my caotic life is ready for another short vacation like a three day week-end. Well....it happend to be a three day week-end last week but it was used up with "things to get done".

I spoke with my Mom this morning about all the junk that has been accumulating in her Apartment. She wants to get rid of it and I told her to just get together with her girlfriend at her house and get rid of all their stuff on the sidewalk. She let me know that she is dearly 'attached' to some of it and can't let go. I have experienced the same feelings myself when I threw out bags full(9 trash bags to be exact) of papers, clothes and useless junk last year. But not before much contemplation and hemming and hawing around because I wasn't sure if some of it might really be important to me............ important??.......non-functional, wasted garbage!!!!! I remember hearing something about Feng Shue(sorry --don't know correct spelling) and how clutter in your household can not only affect your living space but also your mind. Oriental philosophy is very rooted in spirituality and I am beginning to realize that whatever form you believe in makes no difference. Only that sprituality is something that should be part of the whole pie of life. Feng Shue also brings that into focus. I'm getting on a diatribe here again, but I truly believe that it is vital to our lives to understand the connection between us and others and the great expanse of universe out there. I am not a fanatic but I have made the realization that yoga and meditation and allying with nature, (to name a few) and time away from my speedy lifestyle is absolutely necessary and crucial to a healthy life.

Luigi bought a new camera a couple of weeks ago and gave me his 'old' one. His old one happens to be a great Canon EOS 10s with three lenses. I used to have a Minolta SLR(who knows where it is) and I really forgot how to take pictures. So before I eased myself back into setting the speed and the f-stop and all the other photo 'stuff' I decided to put it in automatic mode for the first roll of film. I am going to try to get in one of the photos here with that "blog this" feature on my blog. Remebering that I am computer illiterate I hope that it works. If it does just click on the link either above or below, wherever it ends up and view a picture of my foot and and an espresso cup and saucer..............exciting....isn't it? Oh well maybe next time there will be better photos from my future camera adventures.

Til next time,
Peach

2002-05-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Local War Zone

On Wednesday morning my semi-monthly cleaning lady called me to let me know that she would not be coming that day. "I have to go to a Funeral", she said sadly. When I asked her who it was, she told me that it was the son of a neighbor friend of hers who was killed in a drive-by shooting. The son lived in Pacoima where there is a lot of gang related crimes. The day before I was on my way to an appointment in South Central L. A. The appointment was with a teacher who worked for L.A. Unified School District. She told me that instead of taking the Vernon St. exit off the Harbor Freeway, that it would be faster to get off at the 51st exit of which I was less familiar. And although I had been in this part of town before, 51st St. just wasn't a main throughfare that I knew.

I drove a few blocks and suddenly came upon a police crime scene yellow tape stretched acrosss the street. Up ahead at the intersection were several L.A.P.D. cars. Overhead a couple of helicopters flew close over the intersection and surrounding streets in ever increasing wider circles.
Needless to say I couldn't go any furthur. I pulled into a driveway and got out of the car to see what was happening. I asked a woman who was standing off to the side of the driveway at the entrance to a small Park. "Someone's been shot," she said very sternly, glancing at me swiftly and turning way. I got back into my car and made a u-turn behind the other cars that had come on the scene as I had, and were now trying to get out of the dead-end trafffic jam. I made many turns in and out of different streets before I finally made it to my destination. I was surprised that I didn't feel nervous or the slightest bit concerned. Maybe because it had happened to me before. It felt somewhat strange however, as I could still hear the droning of the helicopters over my head all the way to the school.

I am sitting here wondering about all the drive-bys and the Gangs connected with them. How do you make joining a gang repugnant to a young person who wants desperately to belong and to be cool? There have been many ad campaigns in the media and even in local schools about the use of tobacco and the negative aspects of smoking. There were ads that were released many years ago with Brooke Shields as a spokesperson for anti-smoking campaign slogans and ad posters that were distributed in the schools and shown on t.v. There has also been an ongoing anti-drug program called DARE that is circulating in many school districts with the local police 'teaching' classes to children as young as elementary school age. I also hapened to see an ad(not sure who sponsored it) in YM Magazine for young adults concerning a girl who was grounded for smoking weed. It showed the teenager sulking at home by herself while four of her friends were out enjoying themselves at the local hang-out. The message was obvious and very simple. It occurred to me that while much has been done to reach out to the Y generation, that it seems nothing has been thought of to deter kids from joining gangs and the ultimate event that occurs because of it: premature death by guns.

If there is some sort of program or campaign, I am unaware of it. Maybe there is someone out there with a similar idea who has already started something or has even organized a group. I just haven't seen anything being done on a wide scale. And it's really bad. This has been going on for as long as I can remember. Maybe it's easier said than done. It is just so darn disheartening and so terribly sad. It is scary to think that as much of gang related shootings occur, that it has become the 'norm' and that the newspapers just can't report all of them. Something that happens every day in our community and becomes so routine that we have all become oblivious to it's trajedies.

THINK ABOUT IT

Peach

2002-05-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

The Woman in the Elevator

Two women get on an elevator. A man gets on seconds later. One of the women I'll call the 'Bitch'. The other woman we'll simply refer to as the 'non-bitch'. It is known by all who work in this particular Department that the elevator in this building has a mind of it's own. No matter who gets on first or what button is pushed it will always go 'down' to the Basement level. When the man enters the elevator Non-Bitch says that she thinks "the elevator is going up". At this point the man either presses the button for the basement or he says "'no" and presses the button. The story is sort of murky here and I believe he just turned and pressed the button for going down. As the elevator is going down to the Lower Level the Bitch makes comments pertaining to the integrity of the man and although I do not know what words were used it was basically to say that he was a jerk. (She may have even whispered loud on purpose to Non-Bitch so he would be sure to hear her.) This was a while ago. Yesterday this man was invited to a Department Luncheon where the Bitch was a Supervisor and of course she showed up. She snubbed him at the luncheon and has been doing so ever since the Elevator incident.

The story was related to me by the man. He told me of the kind of behavior she has displayed over the past 2 or 3 years or however long ago this happened. And that her attitude towards him is one of indifference and coldness. Not that he really wanted to have anything to do with her anyway. Upon hearing the story I expressed my understanding of what a 'bitch' she was as he called her and what I thought of the elevator occurrance. I said that I thought that her behavior was not acceptable. But I also told him that I thought that when Non-Bitch said that she thought the elevator was going up, that she meant they were planning on going up. I said he probably should have waited for them to go up before he pressed the button to go down(knowing of course that the elevator's dysfunction would bring it down anyway if he pressed the Basement button) I thought this was the right thing to do. It would have been the polite gesture to make in regards to the facts that were relayed to me. I was not expecting his outraged response at all. He was very angry with me, and said I did not support him or even care. I sort of took this in, thought about what he had said and then tried to convince him again why I thought the women should have gone up first before he went down.............. I am not sure why this conversation got out of control but it did. I have not spoken with him since yesterday. He is still very angry with me and I am even afraid to e-mail him. I am very hurt and feel betrayed. I cried last night and again this morning. Yesterday a kind of numbness took over in which I was silent. Then I went through an anger stage in which I wanted to scream. I also wrote a 'poor me' letter that I was hoping would be found 'accidentally'. How could this have happened? Is there something I'm missing here? Is it necessary to climb inside his psyche to see where he is coming from? Is this just about having a 'bad day at the office'?

I may not be sure where he is coming from but I certainly know of what my position is. Although many people complain about the lack of this, I do find that men still will open doors for a woman . And if two people come to a door or entrance at the same time, there are those, (men and women too), who will step aside and allow the other person to go through first. It is a nice gesture; and I cannot understand why, in this busy world, people cannot perform a chivalrous act and think about someone else for a small millisecond in time besides themselves. My attitude about the 'elevator' is very simple. I still believe what I told him. But my thinking of what elevator etiquette really is should not be interpreted in a way that my disagreement means that I am not supportive of him and who he is, and that I really do care very much how he feels. My intention was not to insult him or otherwise try to demean him; just that I'm entitled to my opinion . I only know that my sensitive heart is hurting and that I do not know the way back. And that the discussion over who has the right of way in an elevator should not be the cause, today, of a man's anger and a woman's painful hanging out to dry and of love's precious lost moments.

Peach

2002-05-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

Are You There?

"Wow, Double Click, are you still out there ?" " Hey, Peach are you gonna update this thing before 2003?" Yup I'm back. Yes I'm 'gonna update this thing before 2003.'

I'm not sure I understand how people get bored, or that they have 'time on their hands'. I have too much to do , too much to think about and too much 'stuff' that needs to get taken care of. I just saw a movie last week-end called "Changing Lanes." Samuel Jackson is, among other things, a participant in a Twelve Step Program (Alcoholics Anonymous). His Facilitator(WillliamHurt ) tells him at one point that his problem is not drinking. He says his drug of choice is chaos. He basically tells Jackson that he lives on drama and thrives on chaos. And in a gesture that defines both a frustrated friend and helper, and a kick in the but to get his act together, Hurt turns around and storms off.

I'm not sure if chaos is my drug of choice. But I am beginning to believe that my drug might be "staying busy", which actually does make my life a kind of chaos. I never seem to get anything done. My father was just in a car accident and , although he is o.k., I am trying to see if I can be of any help as the idiot who rear-ended him at 60 miles an hour claims it's my Dad's fault.......I am working on three, no, make that four projects simultaneously..... I am taking care of a sick Kitty..( as I am sitting here my business phone is ringing at 8:30 at night!) AND...and I would like to 'blog' once in a while. Actually I had planned on staying on top of this weblog at least every other day.

O.K......so ......I went on a business appointment yesterday . I sat down at this guy's desk across from him and listened to his spiel. At his back were these very open, clear glass Church type windows going up about six feet at the corner of his 'corner ' office. He had a great view of all the corners at the street intersection. All of a sudden a lonely ladder with no apparent human attached falls gently against the windows. In a few seconds a man in uniform climbs up the rungs and begins to wash the windows. My Business colleague turned for a second to look at the window washer. "Can't look" he said "I'm afraid of heights," and then turned towards me to continue his discussion. I was, of course, facing the window all the time. It was somehow funny that two very upstanding business suit kind of people were carrying on a serious conversation while a very intent window washer was doing his thing less than two feet away as though we weren't even there. I mean this guy was really into it and concentrating directly on those picture windows even though he was practically on top of us. Kind of intimate. And if the windows had been open, he could have heard every word , even if we had been whispering.............very bizarre, at least from my vantage point.

Luigi just came in to show me a small saucepan he had taken from the refrigerator. "What is this puke?" he says pointing to my half eaten oatmeal from yesterday's breakfast. He needed the pan to cook something . "I guess you can throw it out", I said. But as he went back to the kitchen I called after him to explain to him that I really like oatmeal and it made my nipples hard. ( I don't think he heard me. ) Results not guaranteed. Neither are the absurdist comments made on this program. Hey, don't go suing this website if it doesn't work for you.

See Ya, (before 2003)
Peach

2002-04-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

You are your Culture

I was watching a fascinating Documentary on the Discovery Channel a couple of days ago entitled "The Real Eve". It documented the wandering of 'modern' man 150 thousand years ago from his birthplace in Africa to points north and East and beyond. They had traced the mitochondria from one 'virtual' woman and her daughters through many countless generations and the subsequent cultures they left behind. These humans who came out of Africa eventually became the semitic peoples of the Middle East , the Asian peoples of the East and North and South America; the Middle and Eastern Europeans and the Northern Vikings. In other words these 'first' Africans became the peoples and races of all humans living on Earth today. I already knew a lot of this information as I majored in Anthropology in College. However, due to all the new advanced studies of the human gene and DNA, scientists are learning much more to prove their theories.

I have to say that I have been a little sad lately at all the bloodshed and violence that is going on in Israel and Palestine. Bottom line is as long as there is hate, I can't see a Peace Settlement in the near future. I have heard and seen many news stories over the last few weeks. One of the most distressing of them was a picture that was released by the New York Times. It was two pictures of two young women; both looking amazingly alike and nearly the same age. They both had long black hair, dark eyes and looked like teenagers you might find in a High School Yearbook. One woman blew herself up and the woman who was walking next to her; who was on her way into the market for Sabbath shopping for her Mom. One young woman wanted to become a martyr for her cause and the other just wanted to live out a peaceful life. Both their mothers had probably wanted their daughters to live a long life. One of the most tragic events a parent can experience is to see a child die before themselves. I am normally a kind of a Pollyanna; hopeful and optimistic. I don't feel that same way about the MIddle East. If there was a settlement tomorrow and the Palestinians finally had a State or country of their own; the terrorism would not stop. Although the majority of the Palestinians would be satisfied with their own country ,the Terrorist Groups would survive because of the hate and revenge that is passed on to the very young schoolchildren. It is taught in the classroom and read in their textbooks. And by the time they are young adults their vision or mission would be to rid the region of the entire State of Israel and all Israelis and anyone who stood in the way of their 'beliefs'(i.e Americans).

I am neither a Politician nor a philosopher. But I can see what is going on in Northern Ireland. I remember Bosnia and the gruesome pictures that came out in Time Magazine. I know about Vietnam, World War II, and Somalia and Afghanistan. Am I oversimplyfying things for you? Have you ever fought in a War? I haven't. I have often wondered , reading all those news items and watching CNN, what I would do if I was in a war and all of a sudden I am faced with a young kid who is ready to throw a bomb at me. Would I shoot him in self defense or let myself be blown up. It's really a kind of stupid question, isn't it? But then again War is.......what? stupid? Not a very definitive word. Innocent men, women and children always die in a War. So where do we draw the line? Are all of you out there either on one side or the other. Are you a Hawk or a Dove? Is it really Black and White. I do not think so. If there had been no retaliation in Europe in World War II, what kind of world would have been left for us if Hitler had been allowed to trash the globe unimpeded?

There are no hard lines to draw and no easy solutions. Sure, we have to worry about people like Saddam Hussein and his probability of making a nuclear Bomb. After September 11th maybe we don't feel as secure as we once did. With all that is going on, though , there is still within me a small but strong essence of hope for peace in this world. And although some Wars in the past have been fought for economic and Political reasons, the one true hope that we all have, is that now we really know that we are all brothers. It's been proven. If there is hate , then there surely will always be war. That is certain. If it's about revenge, someone has to be the first to stop the circle of violence or it will just voraciously feed upon itself forever............

Love to all,
Peach

2002-04-18T01:33:00.000-07:00

In the Balance

Running around, working, sleeping, getting up too early; tired, get up the next day, traffic, "go to bed earlier.....no way" ;no time to watch T.V. read or blog. Whine, whine, whine. One heck of an interesting life.....right ? No! Not all those things. My life is really more 'fun' than all that routine minutiae. I would probably go crazy if that's all there was . Making observations in everyday passing of events is very interesting and enlightening. And that is only part of the whole picture.

Saturday we went to the Apple Pan. That Hamburger place has been around long before any of us were born. It's this little hole in the wall, that when you walk in through the antiquated springy screen door , you are back in the 1940's. I don't think any inch of that place has ever been changed. (except maybe for painting the walls.) There is a u-shaped counter encircled with little black stools, that are permanently rooted to the step-up ledge above the floor. What is really amazing is that any time of day that you happen to enter this little joint, it is always crowded with people lining the walls; sometimes 2-deep. I always memorize the people standing around (there are no 'waiting' chairs) so that I know when I'm next to sit down. If you don't take note of the other people you can't go up to someone who just sat down on a stool if you don't know if you were there first.

On this particular Saturday night I saw two guys sit down on two empty stools . I really thought that I had been there first. So I walked up to one of them and told him so. " No", he says to me," I saw you when you walked in here." Whoops! Before I retreated back to the wait line, he said." Hey I can get rid of my friend if you want to sit here instead." I laughed apologetically, said thanks and moved back. We must have waited at least 15-20 minutes before we sat down to order. But that's normal. You wait because it's the best hamburger in the city, maybe in California. You have a choice of two Hamburgers: Steakburger and Hickoryburger. Both are out of this world. You can also order an incredible Tuna Melt with the tuna filling so huge it spills out on the sides. I can see why this place has been able to hang on for going on 60 years. It has built up quite a reputation and I guess the 'word-of-mouths' passes from one generation to the other.

I like to watch people, and I would look around periodically to check things out while I was gobbling my Steakburger . This tall man walks in who looked very cool in his sort of turned-up collar jacket and hung out at the wall. He was probably waiting for someone. I was looking at him as I had been gazing at others in the last few minutes. But I stared a little longer because he looked familiar to me. Lately it seemed everyone looked familiar to me. He looked at me and I was wondering if he thought I was flirting with him, so I looked away. I mean Luigi was sitting next to me and I was not flirting! His girlfriend finally showed up. I told Luigi that I thought they made an odd couple. He had a lot of presence and stood out in a very attractive way. His girlfriend was kind of a mouse. Wow, Why was I being so judgemental? He kept looking over and I started to get uncomfortable. Eventually they moved over to the other side of the room to sit down.

I walked out of there and for the rest of the night I was trying to figure out where the heck I knew him from. I know that I know him. But from when and from where? My mother would have said that this guy was from my past life and the reason I felt uncomfortable was because there was something that had been left unfinished between us and needed to be taken care of. When? She would say "In your next LIfe." Go figure.

Ciao,
Peach

2002-04-06T01:31:00.000-08:00

Space Cadet

It's been way too long . My Weblog has almost become a ghost. I feel a bit empty when my tapping fingers are not stringing all those letters into words out in cyberspace.

I have had a very rough week. My beloved Kitty Zayna is very ill. I came home last Saturday in the early afternoon and had to take her to the Vet. The blood tests confirm that she has kidney disease. The Vet said it's hard to tell how long a cat with that condition will last. She could live another two years-----or maybe only two months. The most difficult part is trying to get her to down three or four different medications. I also have to 'administer' fluids to her subcutaneously. My apartment has become a long term care facility for cats. Luigi holds up the saline solution bag with the long tube and the most incredible long , thick needle you've ever seen. Then yours truly must inject that god-awful needle into her Cat. Ironically Zayna is very calm during this process and I was told by the Vet , as it is given just underneath the skin, that cats really do not feel any pain. But she certainly goes into Rodeo manuvers and Bronco bucking escape modes when I try to get those pills and medicines in her mouth.

Tomorrow is my Birthday and I am planning to have a nice week-end. Luigi and I were going to head over to LACMA for the Sayajit (pronounced Sah-jeet) Ray Film retrospective tonight as we had done last Friday night. Tonight was a bit hectic so we didn't make it over there; maybe tomorrow night. If you are not familiar with this filmaker, then perhaps you should be. He is quoted as being India's greatest filmaker and " one of the greatest of the twentieth century." He is probably best known for his "Apu Trilogy", part of which we saw last Friday.(Pather Panchali/Song of the Road). I have seen two or three of his films already. His films are subtle, sensuous,oftentimes very realistic in a draconian sort of way. (i.e. "Pather Panchali). This observation is probably, solely,an American viewpoint. For Luigi, who grew up in Venezuela, and who was a witness(but not a victim) to that country's poverty and severity; the film remains for him a nomalcy in terms of 'seen it all'. The message that Ray transmits to the viewers, then, will be interpreted in ways that reflect their own individual lives. And yet in my own perceptions of this man's genius, I do find his films poetic and beautiful to watch.

I started out this week being pretty spaced out; but I am beginning to wind down and I am finding myself in a very pleasant, calm state of mind. It probably is somewhat due to finally getting back to my weblog and the 'high' of the transmission of brain cell/idea to my electronic journal. Don't we all find our weblogs therapeutic?

What I really would like to do tomorrow is go for a long hike in the Santa Monica Mountains, perhaps up to Topanga Canyon or Malibu. It's been a long time since I've been out in nature AWAY from the Big City. It is my day , so I'm hoping Luigi is also in the mood for Rattle Snakes and Mountain Lions too. (Just kidding!!!).

Just a quick note to let you know of a great website, especially if you are a woman, that I discovered at Google's wonderful search engine. ( I love Google) Since I am not a computer geek and have not figured out how to transfer links yet(Luigi is busy right now) I will spell it out for you. It's www.moxie.canoe.ca. As you can see it is a Canadian Website. Click on Moxie Men and then check out Jordan Flynn. Not only does he look good but he is my kind of man with the right kind of sensibilities and understanding of the world. He also appreciates nature, and like me grew up near an ocean (the Pacific is the epitome of serenity of the soul). There are also other guys you can check out. Have fun with it and let me know what you think of it. Since I have not figured out how to move my e-mail to this weblog, please check out my other website at promisedprince.blogspot.com It already had an e-mail 'set-up' in the blogskin I selected. So just click on the 'e-mail me'.

A Tout a l'heure (til next time),
Peach

2002-03-23T17:10:00.000-08:00

All's Well that Ends Well

Hey, all you bloggers that are sitting on your buts typing away! Do you work full time? If you do, let me know. I have absolutely no time to write my blogger nonsense on a daily basis. And that, 'sweet prince' is the most frustrating element in my very meandering life. Please, please tell me how the heck you can write all those reams of poetry ; nonsense ; self-absorbed angst ; and sex worship when you work full time?

I am very pleased with my (o.k. and yours too) blogger. I feel like I have fallen down the rabbit hole; just falling and falling in a blissful state ,sans the drugs. I love IT! It is peering through my own looking glass at my own ego and my written word. Whether you are an amatuer or a professional; whether you are an exquisite artiste or you stink, it makes no difference. Most people who create at some time or another, have a strong sense of who they are in the images they create . Mediocrity is the scare word for us. Your word or my word, we all checked off 'public' for a reason. We would like to be read and responded to.

Sometimes, though , I feel that I shouldn't be 'published' unless I am very, very good. And then again, who cares? It's my Journal and if you want to read it, be my guest.

Well, I am still here sitting on my 'end' typing away . All's Well that Ends well.

Bonne Chance,
Peach

2002-03-21T16:39:00.000-08:00

Rambling....

This just isn't fair. Twenty-four hours is not enough. When will I work on my c.d. Rom business card. When will I be able to finally read "Guns,Germs and Steel" . When Can I exercise. (I need it.) When will I find the time to call Marz and whine on her shoulder. Give me a break!

Don't just stand around. Do something. If you want to make it worse for me then call me when I am in the middle of an important project on the computer. Having nightmares about the wicked witch of the Northern Hemispere is also the pits!(who else---Bushido; Bushwacked;whatever you want to call him!)

Ciao,
Peach Zeenie

2002-03-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

Changing Lanes

Yesterday I was late for an appointment(as usual), driving on the 405. In the few minutes it took me to pass two exits, I had encounters with a couple of erratic drivers. A little white car comes out of nowhere from the far left lane and almost shaved off my rear end by inches as it decided it wanted to get off at the upcoming exit. A short time later a BMW decided that a more expensive car is entiled to 'attitude' and to make any moves it can regardless of the traffic situation. He cut in front of me so close that I had to apply my brakes as if I were coming to a Stoplight .

That was not the end of my adventure. When I got off the Freeway at the next exit, a Semi almost obliterated my car by squeezing me out of my lane. Are bad drivers mutiplying or has it always been this way? I am beginning to believe that the situation is actually getting worse. Maybe because the population of this city is mushrooming and apparently so is the ratio of moron drivers. There are times when I just want to stick my finger out the window, or maybe my head, and scream that they are scum with no grey ;matter or that their Mothers suck worms. But I never do because I am paranoid of the gun-toting crazies that are loose on the highways.

I had always hoped that the 1994 earthquake had scared some of the people away from this State. And although many left, about twice that many arrived here to live. California continues to grow, and so of course will the traffic. And that's another story...................

Let me know if the bad driver situation is also becoming worse where you live.

Hasta Whenever,
Peach Zeenie

2002-03-05T01:19:00.000-08:00

It's too late to post anything now at 1:00 in the morning. Check tomorrow for updates. Now go to sleep!!! The Journals and Reviews of Peach Zeenie will begin tomorrow.