first thanksgiving: the true story

i often wonder why we were taught things in school that just weren't true. like the first thanksgiving. we do not have thanksgiving day in honor of natives and pilgrims having a feast together as friends. that's a load of crap. it's true that native chief massassoit, squanto, and samoset, and their men brought food to the starving and desolate european colonists, but that is not what was behind the initial proclamation of thanksgiving day. 

it has been documented that thanksgiving day as proclaimed by general washington, was a day for fasting and praying. yes, i wrote "fasting" not gorging ourselves on an abundance of food. in fact, thanksgiving day occurred more than once a year...individual colonies had their own thanksgiving days set aside for prayer and fasting. they also claimed thanksgiving day when adopting state constitutions, and honoring military victories. yes...even military victories over the indigenous people they stole land from, as well as against the brits. for example, a thanksgiving celebration was held in december 1777 nationwide throughout the colonies to commemorate british general burgoyne's surrender. so let's call this for what it truly is, big family gathering over dinner day. happy family dinner day to you!

insomnia sux

i have serious sleeping issues. so normally i go to bed at this time but for some bizarre reason i was exhausted two hours ago. so i crashed and burned. next thing you know, i am wide awake like it's the middle of the next day. i really tried. i tossed and turned, and then my head started going all over the place and i was thinking way the hell too much about everything. i just couldn't turn my brain off. and the most bizarre thing is that i had no coffee today. the thing about coffee...i never drank a cup of joe my entire life, up until two years ago. i always loved the smell of the wicked brew, just never had a taste for it. see, it was J3's fault. he was a barista boy at starbux his last summer here, and got me to drinking this stuff. it is an acquired taste, and now that i've acquired it, i drink it quite often...with lots of sugary syrups and whip because I don't like it on it's own. supposedly, it's good for women...but who really knows? one of my little rewards for going to starbux is those free itune cards you get there. it's most definitely a v. cool way to expand your music exposure to people you might not have ever thought to bother to listen to. so i go into starbux yesterday, and they shout out my name as they start my double tall white chocolate mocha with whip before i even make it to the register...i feel like norm on cheers...and then after i pay, i go to the pickup side to get my itunes card and my beverage. i am like one of pavlov's dogs, i've been so conditioned. but then the last couple of times i went in...there was no itunes card! and i'm like, dude! what's up with this? you're holding out on me! and they're like, we'll put them back out next month. the manager thought he would soften the blow with a free slice of pumpkin loaf. but somehow that just didn't make up for it...as much as i enjoyed that tasty slice of autumn bread, i was unsatisfied and wanted my itunes. they just didn't get the signifigance of this interuption of my routine. not cool at all. they broke our bond. so now i have no other choice but to visit another location and get my music fix in the meantime. okay...now what...i am still wide awake, trying not to think of anything, and knowing that nothing is open this time of the morning...not starbux...not even a bar...so there is no point of leaving the flat. where do the night people go on a wednesday at 2:30am?

living in the hood

i moved here some years ago at the urging of a friend. i knew that i had to get the hell out of seattle as soon as i could sell my house, and was planning on returning to my native city of angels, but thought i would give the bay area a try first before heading south. this is an interesting little town that i live in. it has a nasty rep for crime but knock on wood, this neighborhood hasn't had any real issues. it also has an amazing history as a shipyard town during WWII, and home of rosie the riveter. i had moved in with my friend for about 3 weeks when a flat opened up two doors down. so i hurriedly moved into it mainly out of convenience...plus my friend was running short on hospitality. that whole "will and grace" thing just didn't work for us.

the place looked alright upon first inspection but after i moved in, i discovered what a hell hole it really was. i even shared a common wall with a witch. no, i am not being polite and meaning she is a bitch. she is both. i have nothing against what people practice but to make matters worse, she is psychotic and very nasty. six cats, mind you. she is by no means a delightful edie beale but it's freakin "gray gardens" over there. when she opens her door, you just want to pass out. she has on numerous occasions banged on my door with a variety of multiple personalities. one day she decided to drive into my parked car. let's just say, it's been pure entertainment at it's worse.

the landlord is a slumlord. there is no insulation so it is either freakin freezing or horribly hot. the windows need caulking because when they are closed, my draperies move with the drafts. the doors need weather stripping because you can see outside around the frames. one day, my son saw light coming up through the cracks of the floor. honestly, the place needs to be torn down. it's the eyesore of the block. i meant to move a couple of years ago but i was injured so that put my entire life on hold.

so anyway, you know how they say how things happen as they are suppose to happen? well, for some bizarre reason, without any plans to move, i moved. and i hate moving more than anything which probably explains the complacency of living in the pit for so long. following my intuition, i just happened to find a place - 12 blocks over - without looking, and two days later i was signing a lease. two days after that, i was moving! this place is the polar opposite of the hell hole that i had been living in.

ah, the creature comforts...dual paned windows, carpeting, central heat...what more could a girl ask for. as scarlett o'hara once said, "as god is my witness, i will never go to bed cold ever again." okay, so she didn't exactly say that, but i have never gone to bed hungry. you get what i mean.